


To Be Young Again

by im_squidward



Series: To Be Young Again [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Age Regression/De-Aging, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Avengers Family, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, De-Aged Tony Stark, Developing Relationship, Domestic Avengers, Everyone Is Alive, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Gen, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Kid Fic, Kid Tony Stark, M/M, Magic, Nicknames, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Bucky Barnes, Parent Loki (Marvel), Pining Bucky Barnes, Pining Loki (Marvel), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Peter Parker, Sassy Tony Stark, Sick Tony, Team as Family, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2019-09-21 15:19:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 108,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_squidward/pseuds/im_squidward
Summary: Earth's mightiest heroes turned Earth's mightiest babysitters when Tony Stark gets turned into a four year old after a battle. They can fight aliens, robots and any other type of villain, but watching after kid might be harder than trying to keep a goldfish alive.*[or the one with a whole bunch of one shots following the lives of the Avengers with a kid at home]Editing in Process





	1. Deck the Halls

**Author's Note:**

> Characters will probably be ooc so I apologize ahead of time, but I'm trying my absolute best here
> 
> Also I have no beta so all mistakes are mine (sorry). Story will go through some editing once it's completed.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" Clint shouts as he walks into the kitchen where Bucky was sitting at the table helping kid Tony eat his breakfast. Steve was making himself a cup of coffee and Natasha was pouring herself a bowl of cereal, neither bothering to look up when the archer entered the room.

"Finally admitting what you are?" Natasha asks him with a raised eyebrow and a tiny smirk and Bucky snorts in amusement while Steve ignores them in favor of adding sugar to his coffee.

"Nat, not in front of the Hobbit," Clint jokes back, referring to kid Tony who seemed to be oblivious to it all, as he grabs the Cocoa Puffs from Nat and starts to eat them straight from the box.

"You're weird," Tony tells the archer with his cute little button nose scrunched up as he looked up at the man.

"Look who's talking, short stack."

"So Clint," Steve says quickly, interrupting any possible argument between Tony and Clint that had been brewing, "we're thinking about getting the Christmas tree up today since everyone is here for once. You in?"

"Definitely," Clint replies through a mouthful of cereal and they all cringe.

Tony was about to make a comment about that when Bucky said, "Finish your breakfast, little punk, so we can get up the Christmas things."

Tony nods and opens his mouth to accept another spoonful of cereal. He can feed himself, but he always makes a big mess and takes forever eating so sometimes Bucky or Steve have to help him eat even though he likes to remind them that he's not a baby and can do it himself, though he secretly likes it when they feed him. Especially in the mornings when he's really tired.

"Is Peter coming over today?" Tony asks curiously as he shakes his head at the next spoonful of cereal Bucky was offering him.

"I don't know, kiddo. He's in school right now, but maybe later when he's done," Steve tells the kid who pouts but nods in understanding. "We can call him later and ask if he can drop by, sounds good?"

Tony nodded even though he was still a little sad he wasn't going to see his favorite crime fighting spider until later. Sometimes when Peter couldn't visit, he'd video call Tony and the two would spend a while talking and making plans about what to do the next time they hung out together. It was amazing for the team to see that no matter what age he was, Tony would always adore Peter and the teenager would always adore Tony.

After breakfast, the whole team meets on the communal floor where boxes labeled "Christmas Crap" in adult Tony's familiar messy handwriting, were placed on the living room floor and a large Christmas tree stood by the large floor to ceiling windows in a corner of the room. Little Tony ran up to the tree and stared at it in awe.

"Is so big!" Tony exclaimed as he turned to face the team who were all smiling fondly at him.

"It is! And you're going to help us put the star on the very top of the tree," Natasha tells Tony as she taps his nose lightly before putting a child's sized Santa hat on his head.

"But how? I'm only this small and the tree is bigger than even Steve and Bucky!"

Bucky chuckled and walked over to pick up the four year old, pressing a loud kiss to his chubby cheek before saying, "Silly, you forget that Vision can fly. He can help you put the star up there."

"You're silly," Tony tells him, wiggling around in Bucky's arms until he's set down.

"Alright ladies and gents, and hobbit, lets get this show started!" Clint exclaims as he claps his hands and ignores the glare Tony sends him. "FRIDAY, crank up some Christmas tunes, will ya?"

A second later **All I Want For Christmas Is You** starts to play through the speakers and Wanda and Nat busy themselves with grabbing the ornaments out of the boxes, Sam with untangling the lights, Clint just went around bothering everyone and the two super soldiers helped Vision unpack the rest of the boxes. Tony meanwhile, ran from one person to the next, chattering excitedly and wrapping himself up in the garland that they always place on the fireplace mantle.

"Alright little one," Wanda says as she hands Tony a gold colored sphere, "let's start putting these on the tree. Just on the places you can reach, alright?"

"Got it!" Tony exclaims as he places the gold ornament on a bottom branch of the tree while everyone else took the higher up branches.

Pretty soon their tree was covered in gold and silver ornaments and Christmas lights and the team were getting Tony ready to put the star on the very top.

"Alright Hobbit," Clint says, grabbing the four year old's attention right away with the nickname and earning a scowl that only made him laugh and coo at Tony who looked like an angry kitten.

"Remember, be careful and we'll tell you if it's straight or not," Bucky tells the kid as he hands him the star.

"You're not," Sam mumbles and Clint snickers beside him while Bucky simply glares at them.

Vision picks up Tony and then floats his way upwards until the kid could reach and place the star in its spot. Tony steadied it a few times as the star wanted to fall and Bucky could only watch with a soft smile as the child wanted it to look perfect.

"All done!" Tony declared and the team cheered and clapped with the child who looked at all of them with a timid yet adoring look on his face.

The whole communal floor was now decked out in Christmas decorations. There were lights everywhere, the couch had Christmas themed pillows and snowmen figures were placed here and there. In all, the floor now looked like a Christmas shop. And there was so much glitter from the glitter covered snowflakes that hung from the ceiling that it would probably be summer before it got completely off.

"Peter is on his way up," FRIDAY informed the team and Tony gasped excitedly, rushing over to stand in front of the elevators to wait for the teen and Bucky shook his head fondly.

"I'll order dinner. Any preferences?" Natasha asked as she stood up from the couch and stretched.

"I'm really craving Italian food from that little restaurant we went to a few weeks ago," Wanda told her a little shyly and they all agreed, giving Nat their orders before she went off to place them.

The elevator doors opened and out walked Peter with his backpack slung over his right shoulder and face breaking out into a large grin when he spotted the child waiting for him.

"Peter! Hi!" Tony greeted him as he ran the short distance and giggled loudly when the teenager picked him up and spun him around.

"Hey, spider baby! Whoa, you're covered in glitter. Did the glitter monster throw up on you?" Peter asked as he tried to wipe away some of the silver glitter on the child's chubby cheeks with the sleeve of his hoodie.

"No! Silly Peter." Tony shook his head in between giggles. "Look! It's Christmas!"

"Almost, Hobbit!" Clint corrected from the living room and Tony scowled again at the nickname.

Peter giggled and walked into the living room where he looked around the room with wide eyes.

"A little overboard, huh?" Steve asked the teenager as he too looked around with a slight wince. It looked pretty, but getting it all down would be a bitch.

"A tiny bit, yeah. But it's really cool though! Like, really really cool. Didn't uh realize Mr Stark had a lot of uh Christmas stuff," Peter comments, the child in his arms not even participating in the conversation as he's too busy fiddling with a loose thread on Peter's hoodie.

Clint rolled his eyes fondly and he settled back on pillows with Santa and reindeer on one of the couches as he kicks his feet up on the coffee table. Wanda and Vision had left the room, probably to do whatever it is they do during their free time and Natasha was still taking care of dinner.

"Staying over tonight, kid?" Bucky asks Peter as he eyes the bag on the kid's shoulders.

"Ah yeah! May's working the night shift and apparently there's a high chance classes might get cancelled tomorrow so I thought I'd come by and spend some time with my favorite spider baby!" Peter explains to the few heroes left in the living room, jostling Tony from side to side to make him laugh.

"You're staying!?" Tony asked as his eyes twinkle with excitement and face breaks out into a large smile.

Peter nods, just as excited as the curly haired child before heading off with him towards the elevator to drop his overnight bag off in Tony's room which is also the one where Peter sleeps in when he stays over. The first time he'd slept over, Peter had taken the extra guest room in Bucky and Steve's floor, but in the morning he'd woken up with Tony curled up next to him so he thought it'd be easier to just sleep with the kid from now on. His bed was pretty big anyways.

*

"Look at the little Hobbit. He always looks like an angel when he's sleeping," Clint speaks quietly as he and Natasha stand a few feet away from the couch where Peter and Tony are fast asleep long after dinner and after a long afternoon of running around. Peter's laying on his back with the kid on his chest and a blanket draped over the two who sleep on unaware that they were being watched.

"You're having way too much fun with that nickname. Once Tony gets back to his regular self, he's going to kick your ass and I won't stop him," Natasha tells her partner with a smirk on her face while Clint opens and closes his mouth various times unable to come up with a proper response.

"So it's okay for him to call me Katniss or Legolas, but I can't call him Hobbit? Unbelievable."

Clint heads off muttering about rights and Hobbits while Bucky, who heard the entire exchange, laughs from the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Edited: 7/27/19**


	2. I Saw Santa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're the one who wanted a picture with Santa, suck it up, kiddo," Bucky tells him with a shrug and the child stomps his feet in frustration and it makes a mom standing behind them in line to glare at the super soldier who doesn't notice.

"I don't wanna go!" Tony whined as he followed Bucky towards the kitchen where Steve was making breakfast and Clint and Peter sat at the table talking.

"Too bad, kid," Bucky grumbled, already fed up with the child despite it only being nine in the morning. "You were beggin' me to go all week and now you're goin' so quit your whining."

"Hobbit, you ready to go see Santa?" Clint asked the four year old child who, to everyone's surprise, burst into tears and sat down on the kitchen floor to cry. "Um was I not supposed to mention the jolly fat guy?"

Steve and Peter both look at the child in surprise and worry, Tony never being one to just throw tantrums like that, but Bucky simply stares at him like he's done with the entire world. He's the one who watches after the brat so he's seen this side of Tony before, when he doesn't want to do something and he's cranky because he didn't get a good night's sleep and just cries over every little thing. Bucky hates it, but it comes with the job description of being a parent. Because that's what he technically is to this kid who used to be a grown ass man-child. He feeds him, bathes him, plays with him and tucks him in at night. He makes sure the kid is safe and healthy and happy. He comforts Tony when he cries or just holds him when he wants to be cuddled. He's a dad to the four year old who used to be a forty something year old man.

"What's the matter now?" Asks a familiar British voice and Bucky looks up to see Loki walking into the room looking the least bit amused. "Hush, child."

"Lo!" Tony wails, making grabby hands at the god who sighs but picks him up and holds him close. And cue in dad number two to the rescue.

No, Bucky and Loki weren't together despite what everyone in the team said, but they were like a divorced couple sharing custody of their kid. Tony loved Loki as much as he loved Bucky and when Bucky had to go on missions with the team, Loki was the one to stay at home with Tony and take care of him. Unless he got called in as well, then Tony would stay with May and Peter.

"Don't w-wanna see S-Santa!" Tony cries loudly, burying his face into Loki's neck and Loki looks over at Bucky, the two communicating silently.

"Just get a room already," Clint mumbles to the pair who turn to glare at him in unison and he throws his hands up in surrender, Peter giggling quietly beside the archer.

"But you were so excited yesterday, kid, what changed?" Bucky asks the child as he walks over to them and rubs Tony's back with his metal hand in hopes of comforting the child.

"D-Don't wanna."

"Uh I don't think he slept very well last night. He kept tossing and turning," Peter tells them, remembering all the painful blows the kid gave him even though the bed was more than big enough for the two.

"That explains it," Bucky mumbled as he took the child from Loki's hold, letting the God of Mischief walk further into the kitchen to make his tea. "Alright kid, we're eatin' breakfast and then we're goin' to see Santa and Peter is coming with us, so stop your cryin'."

"Yeah! I'll go with you guys and it'll be fun! I promise! My Aunt May used to take me to see Santa every year and he always gave me a candy cane!" Peter chimed in excitedly, hoping to get the kid to stop crying. He didn't like it when Tony was upset.

"R-Really?" Tony hiccuped as he turned to look at Peter with wet cheeks and eyes red rimmed and tired looking.

"Of course, spider baby."

"Okay," Tony mumbled and let Bucky hand him over to Peter who sat him on his lap and the four year old cuddled into the teenager, yawning loudly and rubbing at his eyes.

"What a cute Hobbit. Though I guess I should change your name to elf for the holiday season," Clint says as he reaches over to ruffle Tony's messy curly hair and the kid swatted his hand away, glaring cutely at the archer. They had a love hate relationship. Sometimes Clint would be just like another older brother for Tony, the two going off to play pranks on people and other times the two would fight like cats and dogs and force the team to keep them apart for awhile.

"Lolo? Can you come too?" Tony asks the raven haired man who sits at the table with them with his cup of tea. "Please?"

"Oh no, it's the look," Steve says in amusement as he watches Tony bring out the pout and large teary eyes on Loki who looks mildly uncomfortable as he stares at the child like he's some strange creature from another realm. "He'll only keep looking at you like that until you say yes."

"Been there," Peter and Clint say at the same time.

"We all have and now it's your turn, princess," Bucky tells the mage with a smirk.

"Very well, but I still think this is an unusual tradition you mortals do," Loki replies as he leans back in his seat and smiles softly when Tony grins at him with all his teeth.

*

The car ride to the mall is how any car trip with a whiny four year old would go. Tony cries the second Bucky straps him in his car seat and doesn't calm down until Peter sits next to him and puts on his favorite game on his cell phone. Loki and Bucky sit in the front bickering about appropriate holiday traditions.

"Are we there yet?" Tony asked, the phone no longer keeping him busy and Peter takes it back to keep texting Ned and MJ.

"Not yet," Bucky replies as he stops at a red light, hands tightening on the wheel a tiny bit as he braces himself for more bratty Tony.

Tony kicks the back of Bucky's seat, despite his booster seat being in the middle and whines about wanting to get out of his seat. Loki looks about two seconds away from murdering someone and he nearly turns around to scold the bratty boy when he kicks his seat as well, but Bucky announces with great relief that they've made it to the mall.

"Finally," Peter mumbles as he helps Tony get out of his seat, heart breaking a bit when he hears the four year old sniffle and grab his hand. "Ready to see Santa?"

"No," Tony mumbles, rubbing at his eye with his free hand as he walks closer to Peter.

"Just don't puke or cry on the fat guy," Bucky warns the kid who glares at him. "Someone's a Grinch this mornin'."

"Stop winding him up, Barnes," Loki scolds the man beside him.

Peter rolls his eyes at the bickering adults and picks up Tony who's little legs couldn't keep up with their longer ones. Tony settled on Peter's hip and placed his head on the teenager's shoulder, yawning again and shivering from the cold.

*

"I'm tired," Tony whines as he leans against Bucky who rolls his eyes fondly at the four year old now wearing a Santa hat that he'd made them buy him on their way to see Santa Claus.

"You're the one who wanted a picture with Santa, suck it up, kiddo," Bucky tells him with a shrug and the child stomps his feet in frustration and it makes a mom standing behind them in line to glare at the super soldier who doesn't notice.

"But we've been here forever! My little feet hurt."

"Cute," Peter mumbles beside them with a large smile before he takes pity on the kid and picks him up, settling him on his hip. "Better?"

"Thank you, Peter!"

The four year old wraps his arms around the teenager's neck and kisses his cheek in thanks, making the mom behind them coo at the sight. Loki simply snorted and shook his head though there was a fond smile on his face that he would deny until the day he died.

"You could have been a little nicer, Barnes," Loki tells the super soldier.

"Says the Grinch," Bucky replies as he smirks at the raven haired man standing next to him. "Besides, you could have done somethin' as well, doll. We're a family after all."

Peter and Tony giggle at the bickering adults, remembering the comment Clint made that morning before they left for the mall about Bucky and Loki being dads taking their toddler and teenager to see Santa. If it weren't for Steve, Peter's pretty sure the archer would have gotten a broken nose for that comment.

They've been in line for fifteen minutes now and even though they're nearly at the front, Peter's pretty sure Bucky's probably one more complaint from Tony from leaving the line and going home. He'd tried getting someone else on the team to take Tony to see Santa, but everyone suddenly had plans last minute and besides, Tony wasn't going to let anyone take him if it wasn't Bucky or Loki. Not that Loki had anything better to do last minute and who could say no to Tony's pout and big brown eyes? The answer is, no one can.

"What are you going to ask Santa to bring you for Christmas?" Peter asks Tony, trying to keep the kid entertained to make the time a bit shorter and so he stops whining so much.

Tony whispers something in Peter's ear that makes the teenager start laughing right away and Loki and Buck simply stare at the two suspiciously. Tony, Bucky realizes, has his 'I'm conspiring against you' look and he narrows his eyes at the four year old who smiles innocently at his main caretaker.

"Hi," Tony greets the woman behind them who's pushing a stroller.

"Hi sweetie," she greets him back with a large smile and Peter rolls his eyes fondly at the kid in his arms. Just like his adult self, kid Tony's charming his way through life.

Eventually they're at the front of the line and waiting for the kid on Santa's lap to finish talking to the man so Tony could go up. The kid was now standing on his own two feet again with Loki holding his jacket mumbling something about weird mortal traditions. Again.

"Alright, little one, your turn," says the overly cheery teenage girl dressed in an elf costume as she motions for Tony towards Santa.

"My name's Tony, not little one," the child tells her and Peter and Bucky start laughing while Loki sighs and shakes his head.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Tony. My name's Jenna," she tells him with a more softer smile and hands him a candy cane with a wink.

Tony thanks her and quickly heads off to Santa who'd also been laughing at the exchange. The fake Santa pulls the child onto his lap while Jenna hands Peter a candy cane as well which makes the teenager blush a bit and Bucky teases him.

"So, Tony, what would you like for Christmas?" The man asks the four year old who taps his chin with the candy cane and pretends to think for a few seconds, but Peter stifles his giggles as he already knows what the kid is going to do.

"Santa, I don't want any toys," Tony eventually says, looking sad and like he's seconds away from crying.

"Oh? Then what would you like?"

"All I want is for my daddy and my papa to love each other again. All they do is fight and I don't like it. I want us to be a happy family again."

"That little shit," Bucky mumbles as him and Loki stare at Tony wide eyed, faces slowly turning red as Santa and the elves turn to look at the pair while Peter hides his face in Bucky's shoulder to hide his amusement. "You other little shit."

"I knew I should have stayed with Thor instead," Loki says, shaking his head and doing his best to ignore the stares from everyone and resisting the urge to just disappear. "You are both grounded."

"What?! I didn't do anything!" Peter exclaimed as he stood up straight and looked at Loki scandalized. "And, technically you can't ground me."

"May is just a phone call away," Bucky warns the teenager who pouts and glares at the child playfully.

Tony hops off of Santa's lap after the picture is taken with three more candy canes and heads straight to Bucky and Loki with a grin as the two adults give him dry looks.

"That wasn't funny, kid," Bucky tells him as Loki takes the picture one of the elves hands him. Tony only shrugged and went over to Peter and handed him a candy cane and said, "Santa told me to give this to my big brother."

Peter grins and takes the candy cane the child hands him before picking him up and kissing his cheek a couple of times. Tony giggles in the teenager's arms and squirms hoping to get away from the kisses.

"You and your husband have got a beautiful family," says the mom that'd been standing behind them in line, making all four turn to look at her with different expressions. Loki looked like he wanted to kill her, Bucky wanted the earth to swallow him and Peter and Tony both found it hard to contain their giggles.

"I um- uh we're not..." Bucky stuttered, not knowing how to respond to the woman.

"Pardon me?" Loki asked her and was probably seconds away from pulling out his knives.

"I wanna go home!" Tony whined, rubbing at his eyes.

*

"How was meeting Santa, Hobbit?" Clint asked as he pulled Tony onto his lap, Bucky and Loki having gone their separate ways as soon as they'd gotten home.

"Where are Bucky and Loki?" Steve asks as he joins Peter, Tony and Clint in the living room on the communal floor.

"I got extra candy canes for being a very good boy cause all daddy and papa do is fight," Tony tells them with an exaggerated pout while Peter starts laughing again.

"What?" Both Clint and Steve asked with confused expressions.

Peter explains to the two adults in between rounds of laughter and by the end, Clint's in near tears and Steve looks torn between laughing or reprimanding the four year old kid on Clint's lap. Eventually the laughter wins and he's joining them as well and Tony's giggling like mad as Clint chokes out between laughter how he would have loved to be there to see their faces.

"At least we got this to remember the occasion by," Peter says once his laughter has died down and he shows them the picture of a little sad Tony on Santa's lap and his extra candy canes.

"And you two are still grounded," Bucky suddenly says, making them all jump in fright and turn to face the ex HYDRA assassin who still isn't looking very amused. "So you're sleeping in separate floors tonight."

"What a punishment," Clint mumbles as he keeps staring at the picture while Peter and Tony whine about how it isn't fair and blah blah blah.

"So, Buck," Steve starts, "didn't know you were married to Loki and had two kids and now you're getting divorced? I thought we told each other everything."

Peter and Tony start laughing again as Bucky glares at his best friend before walking away again, probably to go punch something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing a chapter every other day until Christmas Day and then I will try to get on a more normal updating schedule say maybe two updates a week? For now I just really wanted to do some Christmas themed chapters.
> 
> **Edited 7/29/19**


	3. Sad Days and Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony was quiet, the side of his face pressed against Peter's arm as he kept staring at the picture of a smiling family and for a moment, he wondered if he ever had a happy Christmas with his parents. Wondered if they ever really loved him like Peter's parents loved Peter.

Tony might be four years old and might act like any regular child, but the team forgets that he's still smarter than kids his age. They forget that he can breeze through math problems meant for kids way older than him and they forget that he can build things from anything he can find. ("Where the fuck is the toaster?" "I believe young Anthony has it.") They forget that he has the maturity level that no four year old should have because some days all Tony does is whine, play, cry and nap like any regular kid. He's perceptive and even though he's four, the people he loves will always come first. So when he walks into his and Peter's shared room one Friday afternoon after dinner and finds the teenager staring at a picture sadly, all he wants to do is make him feel better.

"Peter?" He calls quietly, tone sounding so grown up like it makes the teenager look up quickly thinking Mr Stark was back, but it's just Tony who looks so much older than four years old.

"Oh uh hey spider baby," Peter greets him, clearing his throat after his voice came out a little hoarse. "Thought you were downstairs with Steve."

"Wanted to ask you if we could play Mario Kart." Tony shrugs as he shuffles a little nervously in the doorway. "A-Are you okay? Are you sad?"

"I uh- I'm fine. Just, you know," Peter explained lamely as he shrugged, picture still in his hands and trying his best to smile reassuringly at the child but failed.

Tony moved forward with a little frown on his face and he struggled to get up on the bed like he always did, but once he was up, he sat next to the teenager and looked at the picture. In it, there were two adults and a kid around Tony's age, all three wearing the same Christmas themed pajamas and with large smiles on their faces as they stood with the Christmas tree and presents in the background. Tony realized who they were instantly; Peter's parents.

"Do you miss 'em lots?" Tony asked as he leaned into Peter's side, hearing the teenager let out a sigh that sounded a little shaky.

"I always miss them, but I miss them more during this time of year," Peter explains as he feels himself start to feel a little better with Tony next to him. Big or small, Tony always managed to make him feel better either with just his presence or with words. "I was- I was around your age when they died and I can barely remember them anymore, so this is my favorite picture of us. Coincidentally, it's also the last one we took together."

Tony was quiet, the side of his face pressed against Peter's arm as he kept staring at the picture of a smiling family and for a moment, he wondered if he ever had a happy Christmas with his parents. Wondered if they ever really loved him like Peter's parents loved Peter.

"I'm happy though because I found a new family and I know we'll have a great Christmas together," Peter says after awhile, breaking Tony from his thoughts after probably having sensed his change in mood.

"Bucky and Steve make me hot chocolate when I'm sad, do you want some?" Tony asks as he sits up and looks at Peter with a large grin and wide eyes. Really, the kid just wanted any type of excuse to get hot chocolate and Peter didn't blame him. The two super soldiers made the best hot chocolate he's ever tasted.

"Let's go!" Peter exclaims as he gets off the bed with Tony in his arms, carrying him out of the room over his shoulder and making the four year old shriek with laughter.

They reach the living room where Steve and Bucky are watching TV. The two super soldiers look up when the teenager enters the room with Tony still over his shoulder laughing. Peter still looked a little down, which Steve and Bucky immediately noticed.

"Steve! Bucky! Peter's sad! And hot chocolate will make him feel better!" Tony exclaimed as he ran up to the two adults after Peter had set him down. "Please!"

The two adults chuckled, but Steve went off to make the hot chocolate and gave Peter's shoulder a comforting squeeze when he walked past the teenager. Bucky pulled Tony onto his lap and kissed his forehead while patting the space next to him when he noticed Peter just standing there a little shyly. The teenager goes over and sits next to Bucky who wraps an arm around his shoulders as Tony cuddles into Bucky's chest and closes his eyes.

"Rough day?" Bucky asks the teenager who nods.

"I miss my parents," Peter answers truthfully as he rests his head on Bucky's shoulder.

"I get it kid, I always miss mine as well during the holidays. I still can't remember much from my life before HYDRA, but I can remember enough to miss them."

Steve returns a few minutes later with a tray and four mugs of hot chocolate that he set on the coffee table before handing out the mugs. Tony had to sit on the ground where he could put his mug on the table easier because they'd made the mistake once and the child had spilled his drink all over his clothes and the couch.

"How about some Christmas movies?" Steve suggested to the two kids who nodded happily.

Peter's mood got better as he sipped at his beverage and settled back to watch "Home Alone" with his new family. Halfway through the movie, Tony sat next to him and cuddled into his side which made the teenager smile and snuggle more into the couch with a blanket draped over him and Tony. His sadness from earlier was forgotten and he cherished the little giggles coming from Tony. He might miss spending Christmas with his parents, but he was making new memories with a family that he'd found along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably my least favorite one of the bunch
> 
> **Edited 7/31/19**


	4. Christmas Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I wanna see Santa so I can tell him that I helped make the cookies!"

"I don't wanna sleep!" Tony whined as he stood up on his bed with his hands on his hips, glaring cutely at Bucky who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow and not in the mood to play games with a cranky child. "I wanna see Santa!"

"Don't yell at me. And Santa won't come if you're still awake and bein' a naughty kid, so go to sleep, will ya?" Bucky all but begged the kid who shook his head stubbornly, arms now crossed against his chest. "Peter will come in soon, but little boys have to go to sleep early so they're not cranky tomorrow."

"I wanna see Santa so I can tell him that I helped make the cookies!"

Tony flopped down on the bed, bottom lip wobbling and eyes filling up with tears quickly. Bucky simply cooed at the child and picked him up, rubbing his back as Tony wrapped his small thin arms around his neck and placed his head on Bucky's shoulder. Kids were seriously a precious gift and it seemed that Tony liked to keep reminding everyone of that little fact.

"Kid, Santa knows everything. He'll know that you helped Stevie make the cookies and he definitely knows that you've been a very good boy this year," Bucky told Tony as he rocked the child gently, hoping to get him to fall asleep so he could stop asking to stay up for Santa Claus. He didn't want to take the kid's innocence away by letting him find out the truth. "Come on kid, you're really tired and when you wake up in the mornin', Santa will have already eaten your yummy cookies and dropped off your presents."

Tony didn't say anything and upon looking over at the child, Bucky realized the kid had already fallen asleep with a thumb in his mouth. Bucky shook his head with a fond smile and carefully laid Tony down on the bed before tucking him in and leaning down to kiss his forehead.

"Night, champ," Bucky mumbled against his skin before standing up and leaving the room, FRIDAY turning off the lights as he left.

*

Steve sneaked out of his bedroom a few minutes after midnight. FRIDAY had the hallway lights dimmed so he could make his way to the living room. On his way over, he stopped by the boys' room and opened the door quietly. It had started to become a habit to check in on them to make sure they were okay after that first time Tony had gotten sick and Steve was constantly checking up on the kid throughout the night. And while he knew that FRIDAY was watching the boys and could tell him or Bucky if they needed anything, Steve felt better checking in on them himself.

However, upon entering the room, his heart dropped down to his stomach in fear when a certain four year old was nowhere to be seen. Peter was still fast asleep surprisingly, so Steve searched in the bathroom and then Bucky's room but Tony was nowhere to be seen.

"FRIDAY, where's Tony?" Steve asked the AI frantically as he headed towards the main living area of his floor but the living room and kitchen were empty as well.

"The little boss is on the communal floor, Captain," she replied and Steve thanked her as he headed towards the already open elevator door.

Once in the common floor, the Christmas tree was on and the fire in the fireplace let him see a tiny bundle fast asleep on the floor near the fireplace. Steve let out a sigh of relief before shaking his head and chuckling quietly. The kid really was determined to see Santa Claus.

Looking over, Steve saw the plate of cookies on the coffee table with most of the cookies already half eaten and the super soldier looked up at the vents where a certain archer had disappeared to shortly after Bucky had taken Tony to bed. Steve turned towards Tony just as the elevator door opened and Natasha stepped out with a few presents in her arms. She raised an eyebrow at Steve before her gaze landed on the sleeping four year old and she smirked.

"Nearly gave me a heart attack when I didn't see him in his bed," Steve tells her as he crouches down next to the child and runs a hand through his messy curls.

"He really wanted to see Santa," Natasha says, placing her pile of presents next to the already growing pile before walking over to take a cookie from the plate.

"I'm going to take him up to bed."

Steve carefully picks up the small child who curls closer into his chest seeking warmth before sighing. The blonde man smiled softly and headed towards the waiting elevator.

"Santa?" Tony mumbled sleepily and Steve looked down to see the kid struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Shh, Tones, go back to sleep," Steve cooed, rocking him gently as the elevator took them back to their floor.

Tony fell back to sleep and Steve stepped out of the elevator to find Bucky and Peter heading towards him.

"Let me guess," Bucky starts, "he was waiting for Santa."

"I found him asleep in front of the fireplace," Steve explains and his best friend rolls his eyes while Peter giggles quietly.

"God, Stevie, this kid is worse than you."

"I wasn't that bad. Here Pete, take him to bed."

Steve hands the child over to the teenager who nodded and readjusted his grip on the little boy before heading off with a soft smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be up on Sunday, but you know, last minute shopping and all that, but uh Merry Christmas everyone !!
> 
> I just finished watching Infinity War on Netflix so I spent my Christmas Day crying and opening my wounds again.
> 
> **Edited 7/31/19**


	5. Christmas Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's Christmas! Time to open presents!" Tony shouted as he bounced in the middle of the bed, squealing with laughter when Bucky grabbed him by his waist and then laid him down on the bed. "Please! Peter's up and he says it's time."

"Presents! Wake up!" Tony shouted as he ran down the hall early in the morning hoping to wake everyone up. And by everyone he means Bucky since Steve was already up and so was Peter.

Suddenly Bucky's bedroom door opened a tad bit too violently and there stood a tired and angry looking super soldier with his hair a tangled mess. Tony stood in front of him with an innocent look on his face as he fiddled with a sleeve of his red colored reindeer print onesie.

"Why are you up so early?" Bucky asked him, watching as the kid toddled inside and jumped on his bed.

"It's Christmas! Time to open presents!" Tony shouted as he bounced in the middle of the bed, squealing with laughter when Bucky grabbed him by his waist and then laid him down on the bed. "Please! Peter's up and he says it's time."

"You little punk," Bucky grumbled fondly, picking up the four year old and kissing his cheek a few times. "Alright. Is Stevie up?" A nod. "Okay, go find him and Peter and go wait in the communal floor. I'll be downstairs in a bit."

"Okie dokie!"

Once Bucky had set the child down, he ran off shouting about presents once again and the super soldier chuckled and shook his head fondly as he headed to the bathroom to get ready for his early morning.

Bucky had never been a morning person, unlike Steve who loved getting up early to go run. Bucky loved his sleep and loved waking up late (unless the Avengers Alarm went off), but ever since one of his best friends and teammates got turned into an energetic four year old, Bucky had to kiss goodbye those days where he slept in until lunchtime because a little Tony Stark loved waking up early with an endless amount of energy. The only good part of the kid waking up early was also the nearly two hour nap he took after lunchtime.

"Nice of you to join us," Steve teased his best friend once Bucky entered the common room where Tony and Peter, in their matching pajamas, sat around the tree talking about which presents they were going to open first.

Almost everyone sat around on the couches, though Clint was more asleep than awake where he sat slumped in an arm chair and Bruce looked like he hadn't gone to sleep at all last night, dressed in his lab coat still. Nat, impeccable as ever, sat on one end of the long L shaped couch with an amused expression on her face. Loki sat on the other end with one leg over the other and a cup of tea in his hands, a fond but pained expression on his face. Bucky went over, ruffling the kids' hair on his way, and sat next to Loki who shot him a barely there smile.

"Thor, get your ass in here! We're all ready!" Clint shouted, now wide awake and squealing in pain when both Natasha and Wanda hit his head for swearing in front of Tony. Again. "What?! The Hobbit isn't even paying attention!"

"Am too," Tony replied, twisting in his seat to glare at Clint and holding out his hand. "That's a dollar, mister."

Clint grumbled but pulled out a dollar from his wallet and handed it over to Tony who grinned and tucked it inside one of his slippers. Sam snorted in amusement at the actions. Meanwhile Thor walked into the room he too wearing the same onesie that Tony and Peter were wearing, making the team laugh at the tall blonde who only grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"What are you wearing?" Clint asked in between laughter as the blonde god sat on the floor by the children.

"Is this not the greatest thing you have seen?" Thor asked them excitedly as he looked from his onesie to the team and then to the kids. "Thought it was a mighty look for this joyous occasion."

"Parker, did you have anything to do with this?" Sam asked the teenager who looked over at the team with a devious grin.

"Uh possibly. I mean, technically, all I did was pick some out for the Spider Baby and I, Thor thought it was great and all I did was mention that there was one that seemed to be his size," Peter explained innocently as he shrugged and Wanda giggled from the arm chair next to Clint's.

Clint and Sam burst into loud laughter again, Loki looking half amused and half annoyed at his brother and Bucky let out a few chuckles of his own. Even Vision looked amused from where he stood behind Wanda's seat.

"Alright everyone, let's start opening presents so we can have breakfast," Steve tells them, taking control of the situation before more jokes went around.

"Alright Hobbits!" Clint called, clapping his hands together as he took a seat beside them. "Let's do this."

Soon the living room was covered in wrapping paper, bows and empty boxes as Tony and Peter each had their own pile of gifts beside them and the Avengers with their own. Even Vision and Loki got presents, the god of mischief looking shocked and touched, though he tried to mask his feelings even though both Thor and Bucky saw right through him. Out of every one in the room, Loki was closest to Bucky and Tony and obviously Thor, not because he didn't like the others (though he pretended that he didn't) but because Bucky, Tony and Loki had more in common with each other. Loki had disappeared the first few days after his best friend had been turned into a kid, feeling guilty that he couldn't reverse the curse.

"Have a nice Christmas?" Bucky asked Tony as he cuddled the now sleepy four year old who was hugging the Bucky Bear and Cap Bear he got from Steve and himself.

"Very nice, thank you," Tony mumbled as he snuggled into Bucky's chest, for a second sounding like he was his grown up self stuck in a tiny body.

"All his energy finally wore off?" Loki asked as he sat down next to Bucky after having gone up to his room, reaching over to stroke Tony's soft curls.

"Yep. Too much excitement for one mornin'," Bucky replies, gaze still on the sleeping boy. "You okay?"

"Quite. I actually enjoyed this. I still do not understand many of your traditions, like sitting on a fat man's lap, but it was fun."

Bucky chuckled, looking up when a Nerf dart hit his head and landed on Tony's bears. Looking up, Bucky found Peter with a sheepish expression as he held the Nerf gun Clint had given him.

"You're dead, punk," Bucky warned the teenager who ran off just as the super soldier handed Tony over to Loki before he ran after Peter.

"I do not know how you have survived with such barbaric people," Loki told the child in his arms, a soft look on his face as Tony cuddled closer to him and mumbling something about Spider-Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I'm like 2 weeks late, but ya know the holidays are crazy
> 
> Also, just a quick FYI, there are no actual ships in this story, but if you squint really hard, you might see hints at whatever ships you like :)


	6. How It Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "For fuck's sake," Bucky grumbled in exasperation before he slowly starts to close the distance between him and the child. "Hey kiddo."
> 
> "Who are you?" Tony asks in a wobbly tone as he tightens his hold on his legs a tiny bit as he stares up at Bucky.

That it happens isn't much of a surprise to anyone. They're Avengers after all. They've seen weird. Hell, they've got two soldiers out of time, a man who turns into a giant green rage monster, two gods, a teenager who got his powers after being bit by a spider (like seriously?) and a whole bunch of weird people in their little rag tag family. To suddenly have Tony Stark as a four year old, is less shocking than it truly is. After all, weird comes with the job description.

"So, can we reverse this?" Clint asked after taking one look at the four year old sitting next to the Iron Man suit after a long battle with some dude with magic abilities.

"We should call Strange," Natasha mumbles after having allowed her face to express shock for a few seconds before schooling her expression.

"How 'bout we stop talkin' 'bout him like he ain't a foot away from us," Bucky hissed at the team after noticing the way the child had curled into himself and looked at all of them with big frightened brown eyes. "Go call whoever ya need to call, we'll take care of this."

Natasha nodded and her and Clint headed off while the remainder of the team, Steve, Sam, Vision, Wanda and Bucky himself stayed with the kid who hadn't said a word to them since he was found by Sam five minutes ago. Steve had his 'How-Is-This-My-Life' look that he often got during weird situations either at home or on the field.

"Uh guys? Everything alright?" Bruce asked through the comms and Bucky realized that the man was still waiting on the Quintjet in case of a Code Green, but the battle had ended minutes ago and no one had informed him of what was going on with his science bro.

"We're done here, but there's been a problem. We'll be there in a few," Steve tells the man who makes an affirmative sound and then the team is all looking at each other wondering who's going to approach the kid.

"For fuck's sake," Bucky grumbled in exasperation before he slowly starts to close the distance between him and the child. "Hey kiddo."

"Who are you?" Tony asks in a wobbly tone as he tightens his hold on his legs a tiny bit as he stares up at Bucky.

"My name is James, but my friends call me Bucky," the ex Hydra assassin says as he crouches down in front of the child with a comfortable distance between them to not keep frightening him.

"That's a weird name," Tony says honestly as he loosens his hold on his legs and scrunches up his nose adorably. "I like it."

Bucky chuckles, ignoring the gazes of their teammates on his back and instead focusing entirely on the situation. For people who fought with robots, aliens and whatever mutated creature that they came across, they sure didn't know how to act around a small human who the only thing that could do was kill them with cuteness.

"And what's your name?"

"I'm Anthony."

"How do you want me to call you? Do you prefer Anthony, Tony or somethin' else?"

"Tony's good."

After a few minutes of talking with the kid, who honestly was pretty close to crying after realizing he wasn't anywhere familiar (well more like he couldn't remember anything), Bucky was able to pick him up and carry him towards the group of awaiting superheroes who'd pretended that they hadn't just eavesdropped on the whole conversation. Tony had merely clung to Bucky as he greeted the group shyly, Wanda cooing at the kid whose cheeks turned a cute rosy color.

"We should get him checked out by Bruce," Steve tells Bucky who nods as they begin to head towards the Quinjet.

*

"There is nothing I can do to reverse this," Strange says after he takes a look at Tony who's being kept busy by the Cloak of Levitation though Bucky is standing close by since the kid would start to panic if he stepped out of the kid's sight.

"Thought you were the sorcerer supreme or whatever shit?" Clint asked the man as he folded his arms across his chest, making a pained noise when Natasha hits the back of his head. "What?!"

"I master in spells, not curses."

"Curse? What do you mean?" Steve asked worriedly as he looked over at Tony who was sitting on a bed in medical with the cloak playing what appeared to be patty cake.

"I mean that this isn't a spell I can reverse. Whoever you guys went up against cursed Stark, therefore you will have to wait until the curse dissolves on its own," Stephen Strange explained to the group with a hint of annoyance in his tone and Bucky scoffed, now understanding why big Tony always complained so much about the man. "You could try getting a second opinion, but the answer will likely remain the same."

"And there's nothing you can do to make him an adult again?" Bruce asked with his arms crossed against his chest. "Like another spell to counter this one?"

"I could, but a curse such as this one has too big a risk factor to even attempt anything. Any spell I try could permanently injure him or have his memories erased for good. I do not recommend you try."

The team all nodded in resignation, turning to face the child who was now giggling.

*

"We could just name him Tony Barnes. I mean, the Hobbit imprinted on Bucky like a baby duck," Clint tells the team later that evening as he watches in complete amusement as the four year old follows Bucky down the hall towards the bathroom. "I mean, if the curse takes awhile to wear off, we'll need a cover story, won't we? We can't just say 'Hey villains! Tony Stark is a kid come and take him!'."

"Clint's right, this could be a problem if people find out," Wanda says as she sorts through the bag of clothes they'd ordered for kid Tony, or the hobbit how Clint has taken to calling him. "And stop calling him the hobbit."

"What? He can call me Legolas but I can't call him the hobbit?" Clint huffed as he grabbed a teddy bear from the bunch of things they'd ordered and starts to take off the tag.

"Can't believe Clint's made a good point. It must be the end of the world," Sam teases and dodges to the left as a pair of kid socks get thrown his way. "Who ordered all this Avengers merch anyway?"

"The man-child over here did," Wanda replies as she points at Clint who looks way too happy as he pulls out a small black t-shirt with Hawkeye on it.

"Can we focus on the problem here? Our teammate is a kid and we're acting like we just adopted a child instead," Steve scolds them in a slightly hysterical tone that makes Sam raise an eyebrow at.

"Not to mention that we haven't told Potts and Rhodes," Natasha pitches in with a shrug as she folds a Spider-Man themed pajama.

"Did anyone get him shoes? He can't walk around in just socks, you morons," Wanda scolded Clint and Sam who'd done most of the online shopping as she searched through the many bags and huffing in frustration when not a single pair of shoes came up.

"Oops. Got distracted by all this Avengers stuff, I guess," Clint answers with a giant grin.

"Bucky!" They hear Tony screech and high pitched laughter flows from down the hall mixed with Bucky's own deep chuckles.

"Did you discover anything else, when checking over Tony?" Steve asked Bruce who'd been sitting quietly, lost in thought.

"Whatever this curse did, it's basically given us a blank slate here. Tony doesn't actually remember his parents or his past childhood nor does he have any adult memories. The only thing he does remember here are basic things like his name and other things kids his age should know," Bruce explains as he removes his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose.

It makes Steve pause what he's doing and think about the situation they've found themselves in. That kid over there with no memories of who he is/was is happy and running around carefree and just being a kid when the whole team knows that Tony Stark never had a proper childhood.

"Maybe, if we can't get Tony back to normal, this could be good for him," Steve finds himself saying as he looks up at the team, minus Bucky who's still in the bathroom with Tony, and finds them all looking at him in confusion.

"Um what?" Clint asks with both eyebrows raised.

"I mean, he doesn't remember Howard or the bad times he had as a child nor does he remember nearly dying after flying that nuke or Afghanistan or any of that. It's like he's starting over and however long this lasts-"

"-we can help him make some good memories," Natasha finishes off his thoughts with a small nod.

"So Earth's Mightiest Heroes become Earths Mightiest Babysitters?" Clint asks as he looks down at the t-shirt in his hands and a thoughtful expression on his face. "Could be a good thing, but none of us are kid experts and how would we justify Tony Stark and Iron Man's disappearance?"

"We'd have Pepper take care of that. Tony's PR team could release a statement," Natasha informs the team who nod at the plan.

The four year old then runs into the living room with a big smile on his face and Bucky walking calmly behind him. Tony gasps excitedly when he spots the teddy bear sitting by Clint. It's slightly bigger than an average sized one with caramel colored fur and big brown eyes.

"It's for you, Hobbit," Clint tells the child with a soft smile on his face as he watches Tony reach out to caress the bear's soft fur with a tiny hand.

"Thank you," Tony mumbles shyly, cheeks flushed as he grabs the bear and hugs it tight with a big smile on his face.

"Don't ya think you went overboard with buyin' all this?" Bucky asks as he eyes the many bags sitting on the living room floor. They all shrug and meanwhile Bucky keeps looking at all the clothes and toys they got Tony with an amused smile on his face. The team really were helpless with simple every day tasks.

"Miss Potts is on her way up with the pizzas you ordered," FRIDAY informs the team who all look happy at the thought of their dinner finally coming up. Pepper had offered to bring up the pizzas when she visited.

The elevator doors open and the team and Tony look over to see Pepper and Rhodey walk out with the boxes of pizza being carried by the Colonel.

"Bumped into this one on my way up," Pepper tells them as they all head to the kitchen, Tony making grabby hands at Bucky who picks him up and carries him over with the bear included. "Oh! Look at this cutie! Hi, sweetie."

Tony flushes and hides his face in Bucky's neck, earning chuckles from the team and a coo from Pepper. Rhodey looks more amused than anything, probably already plotting future blackmail material for when Tony gets back to his regular age.

"So what did Strange say?" Pepper asks once they all sit down to eat, Tony sitting happily on Bucky's lap and eating the pepperoni off his pizza first.

"He can't do anything because this is a curse and not a spell," Sam explains as he grabs a napkin after taking a seat next to Wanda.

"There's a difference?" Rhodey asked with an eyebrow raised and an incredulous look in his eyes.

"Apparently. If he tries anything, it can leave some sort of permanent damage on Tony and we'd rather not risk it," Steve tells the Colonel who nods.

"I hope you plan on feeding him actual healthy food and not just take out all the time," Pepper warns them with a stern expression.

"Don't worry, I'll be in charge of that," Bruce says as he walks into the kitchen after having gone to the bathroom and smiles at Tony when the child smiles up at him shyly. "I'll help them start a routine until we can fix this. Including bedtime, bath time, possibly nap time and so on."

"Buzz kill," Clint speaks with a mouth full of food and Wanda grimaces at the sight since she's sitting across from him.

"You're so disgusting," Wanda tells him and Tony giggles as he takes a small bite of his pizza. "You're setting a bad example for the little one. Bucky's definitely a way better role model than you."

"Bucky!" Tony cheered at the name, lifting his greasy hands up in the air and bouncing excitedly in Bucky's lap.

The team laughs at Tony's obvious like for Barnes in such a short amount of time and Clint's obvious jealousy. Tony was definitely close to Clint, the two often planning pranks against the others or each other or just generally acting like the children they really were so it probably wasn't easy for Clint to suddenly lose one of his best friends and have him replaced with a child who hadn't said more than two words to each of the rest of the team.

"Oh? You really like Bucky, huh?" Pepper asked Tony who nodded and went back to eating his slice of pizza. Bucky had chosen a small slice for the kid, but Tony wasn't even halfway done with that when the team were all reaching for their third or fourth slice.

"He's cool," Tony tells her with a grin before he looks up at Bucky, pizza sauce all around his mouth and even some on his cheeks.

"Sure am, kid," Bucky replies fondly as he grabs a napkin and starts to clean the four year old as best he can, but some of the sauce is already dry so he leaves that for bath time.

"You're such a dad," Rhodey teases him and Bucky blushes a bit but shrugs. "So how's it been having a mini Stark at home?"

"Like he isn't even here. He only follows mama duck Bucky over there," Sam replies with a shit eating grin that makes Bucky want to punch him in the face for.

"I am glad that he has adjusted well to being around everyone despite having been frightened at first. But I believe it is still not very easy for him since he does not have any memories besides the ones he's made since waking up today," Vision pitches in from where he's standing by the breakfast bar, having just been quietly observing his family and the child version of his creator.

"That's true. I would have thought he'd be more hesitant to be around so many strange adults," Bruce agrees with a quiet hum afterwards. "Though maybe it could be because a part of him that he doesn't understand knows who we are and therefore feels safe around us. That's just my theory. We won't really know for sure, most likely."

"I'm just glad he's not kickin' and screamin'," Bucky says as he grabs another slice of meat lovers pizza.

After dinner, Bucky takes Tony up to his and Steve's floor where the child would be staying from now on. The team had placed the things they bought the toddler in the guest room closest to Bucky so the super soldier grabbed a pair of pajamas, underwear and a towel before taking the kid to the bathroom where a few bath toys were waiting for them.

"Ducky!" Tony exclaims as he grabs a yellow rubber duck and squeezes it.

"Alright kid, let's get you in the bath so you can be all clean for bed," Bucky tells him.

Once the water is at a perfect temperature, Bucky fills up the tub and then undresses the kid and sets him in. Tony doesn't do much at first, he just stares at the water like he's never had a bath before and Bucky wonders how old Tony was when he started to do things on his own. Soon enough though, Tony picked up his duck and started to play with it.

"Everything okay in here?" Steve asked as he walked into the room after a particularly loud squeal from Tony, unamused grunt from Bucky and the sound of water splashing was heard.

"Peachy," Bucky grumbled in irritation, shirt soaking wet as the child continued to squirm in the water and Steve laughed, getting Tony's attention.

"Hi," Tony greeted him shyly, cheeks pink and holding his duck to his chest.

"Hi kiddo, having fun with Bucky?"

"Lots!"

"You tiny punk," Bucky grumbled with a scowl on his face even though Steve could hear the fondness in his tone.

Once bath time came to an end, Steve helped his best friend get a sleepy Tony ready for bed and soon enough the child was tucked in the too big bed and fast asleep.

"I'm exhausted," Bucky mumbled as he sat on the couch.

"Well, it's only day one and Tony's chosen you to take care of him so you might want to start getting used to the joys of parenting," Steve teased him as he headed for the kitchen, laughing as Bucky let out a string of curse words directed at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 6 - 10 will be like flashback chapters. They'll be about the team getting used to being "parents" to kid Tony and such.
> 
> Also, I apologize it's taking me so long to update, but I just recently started babysitting in the mornings and I work in the afternoons at the mall so I don't have much time to write anymore, but I'm working hard on updating on Mondays from now on.


	7. Superhero 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm teaching the Hobbit all about superheroes today," Clint replied and Tony giggled as he opened his mouth to accept a bite of eggs. "The little one asked about our favorite arachnid hero and I promised to give him the full scoop on us."

"Who's this?" Tony asks as Clint dresses him in a red t-shirt with Spider-Man on the front, pointing at the masked hero swinging from a web.

"That, Hobbit, is Spider-Man. He's a hero, just like the Avengers," Clint explains as he sits Tony on the bed to get the kid's shoes on, making a face as Tony wiggled his feet around to prevent him from doing so. In the past two days, they've learned that Tony does not like wearing shoes, or socks and if you look away from him for even one second, you'll find his shoes and socks scattered around the communal floor. And on one memorable occasion, no pants as well.

"Who are the A-ven-gers?" Tony sounds out carefully, a cute confused expression on his face that makes the blonde archer pinch the kid's cheeks and coo at him.

"Cute. Don't worry, Hobbit, we'll give you a lesson on superheroes. You know what a superhero is, right?"

"Duh! I know who Cap'ain America is. He's a superhero." Tony huffed with a roll of his eyes, apparently that being one of the very few things he can actually remember which makes it a bit easier for Clint now.

"Well good, then our lesson on superheroes will be much easier. Are you willing to learn, young one?"

"Yes!"

"Barton!" Natasha yelled from down the hall and both Tony and Clint giggled quietly before running out of the room and meeting up with the red head by the elevators. "What took you so long?"

"Clint's just slow," Tony tells her, taking her hand as the elevator doors open and the three step onto it.

The elevator took them down to the communal floor where the rest of the team (well minus Thor and Loki who were still in Asgard) was already gathered as Steve and Bucky made breakfast. They'd started a tradition that every Saturday the two super soldiers would make a big breakfast for the team, consisting of pancakes and/or waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit and hash browns.

"Morning!" Tony greeted everyone once he entered the room.

"Morning Tony," they all greeted back with large smiles as they watched the child run around the large kitchen table until he came up to Wanda who happily picked him up and placed him on her lap.

In the past two days Tony had gotten used to everyone, almost like he'd been living with them his whole short life and had started to follow Bucky a little less, which the ex Hydra assassin appreciated as much as he missed it.

"Anyone have plans for today?" Steve asked once they all sat down to eat, Wanda helping feed the child who still sat on her lap.

"I'm teaching the Hobbit all about superheroes today," Clint replied and Tony giggled as he opened his mouth to accept a bite of eggs. "The little one asked about our favorite arachnid hero and I promised to give him the full scoop on us."

"Speaking of arachnid, the kid's been askin' FRIDAY when he can come visit," Bucky tells the team who all turn to look at Tony who's using his hand to eat the hash browns on his plate. "I don't know when you guys were plannin' on telling him what happened."

"I'm guessing we can talk to Tony first and then inform Peter," Bruce replies as he looks over at the child who was happily eating his food and ignoring everyone else.

"Do I tell the small fry of the brat's nighttime activities?" Clint asks with a slight frown because while Peter definitely wasn't good at keeping his identity a secret from the rest of the Avengers when they met, Clint isn't sure a four year can be trusted with something like that.

"Maybe we'll let Peter decide that one," Steve tells him, the others nodding in agreement.

After breakfast, Clint takes Tony from Wanda and heads into the living room with Sam following while the rest either help the two super soldiers clean the kitchen or in Bruce's case, head down to the lab to keep working. Clint sits on the couch with Tony on his lap and Sam next to them with a giant grin.

"Alright Hobbit, let's start out classes here," Clint instructs as he motions for a hologram to appear in front of them. "These are the current Avengers, also known as the lovely people you live with."

Tony giggles as pictures of everyone appear and next to them pictures of them in their uniforms. The kid reaches forward with a chubby hand and enlarges a picture of Clint in his uniform.

"What's your name?" Tony asks him as he tilts his head up to look at the blonde.

"Hawkeye and I'm the best Avenger, Hobbit."

"As if," Sam scoffs and Tony giggles harder as he looks over at Sam who winks at him playfully. "I'm the better Avenger, kid, don't listen to him."

And that's how they spend the next half an hour, teaching Tony all about the Avengers until they reach Spider-Man and Tony gasps excitedly as he plays some YouTube videos that FRIDAY offers for them. Sam and Clint are both surprised and a little upset at how much more excitement Tony shows at the arachnid hero as opposed to the rest of them. Tony barely made a peep when they replayed footage of the Avengers.

"Is Spider-Man!" Tony exclaims as he points at the video as he looks at Clint who nods and praises the little boy for remembering. "He's on my shirt!"

"Yeah kiddo, that's Spider-Man. He's not technically an Avenger, but he's helped us fight the bad guys a few times. He's cool," Sam tells Tony who replays the video of Spider-Man swinging around Queens and helping an old lady get her cat.

"So cool," Tony mumbles, still in awe about watching the hero in action and Clint simply huffs.

*

"How was teaching the little one about superheroes?" Natasha asks her best friend when he walks into the kitchen with Sam where she's drinking tea with Bruce and Wanda while Bucky makes himself a snack.

"Ugh," Clint replies as he makes his way to the refrigerator.

"He's just jealous 'cause Tiny T has a favorite hero and it ain't him," Sam explains to them and they chuckle at Clint's obvious dislike.

"Who is it?" Wanda asks curiously.

"The spider kid."

"Guess it'll make things easier for when we tell Peter," Bruce says with a smirk.

"Bucky!" Tony shouts as he runs into the room, slipping on the floor as he's only wearing socks and squeals in delight when he crashes against Bucky's legs.

"Whoa, there, kid. Careful," Bucky warns him as he picks up the four year old and offers him a bite of watermelon.

"Mmm, yummy."

"So, Tony, who's your favorite hero?" Natasha asks Tony with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looks over at Clint briefly before smiling softly at Tony who chews quickly to answer her.

"Spider-Man! He's so cool! And he swings with his webs and he rescued a kitty!" Tony explains excitedly, bouncing excitedly in Bucky's arms and waving his arms around and the super soldier snickers as he tightens his hold on the kid so he won't accidentally drop him because of all the squirming around he's doing.

"Adorable," Wanda coos at the child who's still going on and on about his new hero and how he wants to be just like Spider-Man.

"If you're a good boy, maybe we'll even introduce you to Spider-Man, would you like that?" Natasha asks the child who gasps excitedly.

"I promise to be extra very good and eat all my veggies and clean up my toys and-!"

"Okay, kid, we get it. We'll hold you to that promise and if you're good until the end of the week, we'll get Spider-Man to come visit," Bucky tells Tony who nods eagerly and opens his mouth for more watermelon that the super soldier gladly feeds him.

*

"Alright kiddo, which pjs do you want?" Steve asks Tony who's sitting on his bed wrapped in a fluffy red towel freshly bathed. "There's Paw Patrol, the dinosaur ones, the robot ones, Spider-Man-"

"Spider-Man please!" Tony told him, remembering to use his manners because he's so far keeping his promise of being a good boy.

Steve chuckles and takes out the red and blue Spider-Man pajamas from the drawer and heads towards the waiting child who's like a little burrito in his towel. The blonde man took his phone out and snapped a picture of the kid who had simply grinned at the camera.

"You're too adorable for your own good," Steve tells the kid as he begins to dress him, tickling the child's bare stomach and making him shriek with laughter as he squirmed in an effort to get away from Steve's fingers.

"Are ya killin' the poor kid? Jesus," Bucky says in clear amusement as he enters the room with a cup of warm milk. "Ready for bed, kid?"

"Ready," Tony replies in between a yawn as he settles under the covers and thanks Bucky when he hands him his cup of warm milk. "Story, please?"

"Sure. What kind do you want?" Steve asks as he sits next to the child, settling back against the headboard as Tony thought for a second.

"Spider-Man?"

"Okay, let's see..."

Once Steve and Bucky finished retelling the story of when Spider-Man, Captain America, the Winter Soldier and Iron Man defeated a giant fire breathing lizard, Tony was fast asleep clutching his stuffed bear. The two super soldiers leaned down to kiss Tony's forehead before exiting the room quietly as FRIDAY turned off the lights, leaving the room in a soft blue glow of the nightlight they'd bought him.

"He's really determined to be good just so he can meet Spider-Man," Steve says as they walk into the communal floor where most of the team is still gathered watching TV.

"I never should have told him about the spider brat," Clint grumbles as he shoves a handful of popcorn into his mouth and Wanda giggles beside him.

"I mean, Tony's a sweet kid, but I really hope I don't have to step on another Lego this week," Sam comments and Natasha nods in agreement. "I'm really hoping meeting Pete will keep his motivation to clean up his toys."

"This is going to be a good week. Hopefully," Bucky mumbles as he settles back on the couch to watch whatever show Natasha had picked out. "Stevie, you're on tellin' the spider kid duty what happened to his mentor."

"Why me?" Steve asks his best friend with a frown.

"Besides Tony and Loki, the kid was closest to you out of all of us and well as you can see, Loki ain't here right now."

"Fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I nearly forgot to update today, it's my only day off this week from both jobs so I've been sleeping on and off all day. Oops. Also because my insomnia's been a bitch lately #TeamNoSleep so I've been re-watching Avengers Assemble


	8. Dollar For Your Naughty Words?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Shit," Tony repeated, looking up at Clint innocently when the archer looked down at him with wide eyes.

"You sure you can watch him on your own?" Bucky asks Clint as he tucks his phone into his back pocket, sending the archer a 'you better or else I'll murder you in your sleep' look that Clint waves off with his hand and a large smile.

"Hey, no worries! The Hobbit and I will have a blast together! I've got a whole day planned for the two of us. Of course, remembering nap time," Clint adds quickly when he saw Bucky open his mouth. "Have some faith in Uncle Clint, mama Bucky."

"Yeah, Buck, don't be such a protective mom," Steve teases his best friend as he walks over to the pair with Tony on his hip yawning tiredly. "Mama Bucky is silly, isn't he Tony?"

"Very silly," Tony agrees in between giggles, his little arms wrapped around Steve's neck. "Mama's silly."

"Oh my gosh, this is it. I'm officially murderin' every single one of ya morons," Bucky groans, glaring at Tony who keeps giggling and hides his face into the side of Steve's neck.

"Alright, there will be no murdering of any kind. Let's go before we're late and Natasha does the murdering instead," Steve tells Bucky who nods and walks over to take Tony from Steve with a bit of a struggle. Tony, as of yesterday, has been clingy with Steve and at one point started to cry because the man wasn't in the room and didn't stop until the blonde super soldier picked him up. And no, Bucky is definitely not jealous.

"Alright, kid, be good to Clint and make sure he doesn't do somethin' that'll blow up the place, okay?" Bucky tells Tony who nods enthusiastically. "Good. We'll be back by dinner."

"Bye Bye," Tony says as he kisses Bucky's cheek before Steve gets his turn to say goodbye to the child.

Fury had called them into SHIELD with Sam, Wanda and Natasha to go over the details for a mission he's sending them out on soon. Bruce and Vision were out of the country on some science seminar. Thor and Loki were still in Asgard, though Bucky suspected Loki didn't want to see his best friend this tiny and not being able to do anything to get him back to normal.

"Alright, Hobbit, lets go have some fun," Clint announces once Steve and Bucky have left. "What do you wanna do?"

"Movies?" Tony asks Clint as he tilts his head to the side and looks up at the archer with big brown eyes.

"You know I can't say no to that face. Now come on, I'll even make popcorn."

"Yes!"

Tony followed Clint into the kitchen and watched the archer place a bag of popcorn in the microwave and jumped in his place excitedly. When the popcorn was done, Clint grabbed the bag from the microwave and poured it into a bowl.

"Alright, Hobbit!" Clint announced as he grabbed some popcorn and put them in his mouth. "Oh shit! That's hot!"

"Shit," Tony repeated, looking up at Clint innocently when the archer looked down at him with wide eyes.

"Don't repeat that again or your mom's going to kill me."

"Shit."

"Tony," Clint whined as he crouched down to be at eye level with the kid. "Listen here kid, you can't say that, it's a naughty word."

"Shit."

"Oh boy. I am so dead."

*

When the team gets home from their meeting at SHIELD, Tony's running around the communal floor in just a Hawkeye t-shirt and his Scooby-Doo underwear and the archer is sitting on the couch rethinking his life choices.

"Shit!" Tony yells and then giggles and Bucky turns his glare to Clint who flinches and sinks down on the couch.

"Um, it wasn't me?" Clint tries to explain.

"Fuck! Shit!" Tony shouts again from somewhere down the hall.

"Barton, why is my kid shoutin' all those bad words?" Bucky asks Clint who holds his hands up and sighs in relief when Tony runs into the room, the others snickering at the lack of pants.

"Bucky! Steve! Hi everyone!" Tony greets them, running up to Bucky who picks him up and kisses his messy curls.

"Alright kiddo, you and I are going to have a little chat."

"But I don't like pants," Tony tells him quietly, pouting at Bucky who chuckles and shakes his head, assuring him that that wasn't why they needed to talk, as he walks towards the elevator with Steve following after the two with Tony's discarded pants and shoes.

"We leave you alone with Tony for a few hours and you manage to corrupt an innocent little boy?" Wanda asks playfully, shaking her head as Natasha advances towards the archer.

"Oh come on!" Clint shouts in indignation. "Have you actually met the brat? He isn't innocent. Besides, it isn't my fault he's a little parrot!"

"Is this a payback for the whole Spider-Man thing?" Sam wondered with a raised eyebrow as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, totally. Cause I'm that petty and I want to make Bucky's life a hell of a lot more complicated," Clint explains sarcastically as he rolls his eyes and dodges Nat's punch.

"Hell," they hear a tiny voice repeat in between giggles and Bucky's groan.

The two super soldiers and Tony walked back into the living room with the kid dressed in pajamas (Spider-Man ones of course) and Steve was grinning, finding the entire situation way too amusing. Steve could be a little shit when he wanted to, even if the team still liked to tease him over the time he said 'language' during a fight.

"Hey, what'd we talk about, kid?" Bucky warned the child as he gently hit him on the head, making Tony to stop giggling and pout as he turned to glare at his caretaker.

"To not too. Bu' is funny," Tony told Bucky as he walked up to the ex HYDRA assassin and held his arms up knowing Bucky couldn't stay mad at him for too long if he acted all extra cute and cuddly.

"You little brat." Bucky picks up Tony and blows a raspberry on his chubby cheek to get the child to shriek with laughter, ignoring the fond looks the team were giving the two.

"Anyways, we're putting an end to the swearing around Tony and whoever does will need to pay up a dollar," Steve informs the team who groan in unison and complains (mostly from Clint) fill the room. "No buts. We've learned today that the little one likes repeating words he should not be repeating and therefore as his primary caretakers, Bucky and I have decided that this is the best solution to the problem. We don't wanna give an old lady a heart attack if someone out there hears him swearing like a naughty boy." Steve tickles Tony's side and the kid only laughs harder as he squirms around in Bucky's arms. "So Barton, since this whole problem is your fault, your fine is of ten dollars, so pay up."

"Seriously?! Oh come on!" Clint whined as he stood up from the couch and pulled out his wallet. "Are we putting these somewhere?"

"We'll have jars around the most used places of the tower by tomorrow, but for now-"

"Mine!" Tony exclaimed as he took the money from Clint who glares at the four year old.

"Why do you need the money? You're a billionaire!"

"Is not for me though," Tony tells Clint, looking as serious as a four year old can. "Is for other kids who need money 'cause they don't gots enough or don't gots a family like me. They need it lots more than me."

At that statement, the team all looked at the kid with teary eyes and soft smiles. Tony Stark was certainly a precious human being and they'd all come to know how big of a heart their teammate really had, but seeing it when he was only a child himself who should only worry about who to play with, it really made them appreciate and love him more. It made them wish the media and general public could really see who Tony Stark really was behind his mask and plastic smiles.

"I can't with this cuteness. I think I have a cavity," Clint said dramatically as he took Tony from Bucky and stumbled his way playfully towards the couch with Tony laughing in his arms carelessly.

Steve turned to face his best friend who was staring at the kid with a look that he easily interpreted as a proud parent look and for a second it made his chest ache because soon enough they would be getting their Tony back and he knew the amount of heartbreak they would all go through at losing this precious child, but Bucky more than the rest of them.

"I'm going to go look for some jars," Natasha mumbled, voice sounding suspiciously close to tears but everyone knew not to comment on her display of emotions unless you wanted a broken bone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I called in sick at work today because of the snow storm that hit us and because I couldn't be fucked with cleaning my car from the snow covering it, but it's gonna be really fucking cold this week and I really don't want to go out at all. 50 degrees below zero is fucking insane
> 
> Anyways, in other news, a certain teenager with spider powers comes in next chapter :)
> 
> oh and huge thanks to everyone who's commented on this story, you're all lovely !!


	9. The Spider-Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh! Right!" Peter said awkwardly as he carefully took Tony from Bucky's arms and held him just as awkwardly and both Bucky and Steve shared amused looks. "Uh hey there, Tony. I uh like your shirt?"

The day Tony and Peter finally meet (again), is a whole week after the swear jar rule gets started and Clint by then has deposited another ten dollars for his constant swearing. It's raining outside and Tony, who's sitting on the floor, is pouting and staring out the large floor to ceiling windows in the living room of the communal floor because Wanda and Vision had promised to take him to the park, but now he couldn't go because of the stupid rain.

"What are you doing sitting here all alone, Tones?" Steve asks the child as he sits next to him, smiling as Tony leans into his side and lets out an over dramatic sigh.

"I'm bored and it's raining," Tony explained with a large pout as he gripped Steve's shirt tightly and turned to bury his face into the soft fabric. "And Bucky's not home. Or Clint."

"Well Bucky will be home soon, kid, he just went to go get someone to bring them to the tower for the weekend," Steve explains as he runs a hand through Tony's hair before pulling the kid onto his lap and staring out into the city as Tony continued to bury his face in his shirt and whine about his boredom.

"Who is he gonna bring?" Tony eventually asks as he looks up at Steve with wide brown eyes.

"Captain Rogers, Sargent Barnes is back with you know who," FRIDAY chimes in before Steve could reply, an amused tone to her voice that still impressed Steve because he could not comprehend how Tony could create AIs who grow so much and were capable of emotions.

"Bucky's home!" Tony cheered, scrambling off of Steve's lap and running towards the elevators where he waited until they opened and he went to throw himself at his favorite person in the entire world, but stopped when he noticed the teenager standing next to his caretaker and Tony tilted his head to the side in curiosity.

"Uh, hi!" The teenager greeted the four year old with a nervous smile as he waved his hand awkwardly and Steve rolled his eyes fondly at the teenager.

"Bucky?" Tony questioned as he moved towards the metal armed soldier with his arms raised and making grabby hands until the man got the hint and picked up the child.

"Tony, this is Peter Parker, a friend of ours and he's staying for the weekend. Pete, kid, this is Tony," Bucky introduced the two with a smile and he watched the way Tony stared at Peter for a few seconds with a thoughtful gaze before extending his arms towards the shocked teenager. It was one thing to be told your mentor was now back to being four years old and another to see it with your own eyes.

"Take him," Steve said quietly, knowing Peter's enhanced hearing would pick it up.

"Oh! Right!" Peter said awkwardly as he carefully took Tony from Bucky's arms and held him just as awkwardly and both Bucky and Steve shared amused looks. "Uh hey there, Tony. I uh like your shirt?"

Tony looked down, almost as if he'd forgotten what shirt he was wearing, before looking back up at Peter with a grin. His shirt was yet another Spider-Man shirt, this time black with a cartoon version of his favorite hero.

"It's Spider-Man! He's my favorite!" Tony tells Peter who flushes at the kid's statement, unable to form a proper reply. "Do you have a favorite hero?"

"Yeah, I like Spider-Man too. He's pretty cool," Peter tells the kid whose whole face lights up at that while Bucky and Steve roll their eyes at Peter's answer.

It didn't take long for Peter to lose his awkwardness and for the two kids to be running around Steve and Bucky's floor while shooting at each other with Nerf guns. Tony was shrieking with laughter every time Peter used a fake accent to imitate a villain. They were having so much fun together that they hadn't noticed when Clint, Nat and Sam stepped off the elevator.

"So I take it they get along," Clint comments with a smirk as he watches Peter chase after Tony, purposefully going slower to give the child advantage.

"Peter was awkward at first. He held Tony like the kid was a bomb ready to explode," Bucky tells them with a fond chuckle as he watches Tony jump on Peter who catches him easily, the room filling with their giggles and battle cries.

"No matter what age Tony is, the two will always be like two peas in a pod," Natasha comments as she watches the two play around happily.

Tony loved Peter so much that getting him to go to bed was a total nightmare. During dinner, Tony had sat on Peter's lap, during the movie the whole team watched, the kid had cuddled up into the teenager and refused to let go. Bath time had been a bit awkward on Peter's part as he sat on the closed toilet seat while Steve bathed Tony and squirted the child with a water gun. It was certainly a moment he wasn't ever going to mention with Mr Stark once he was back to normal.

"But I wanna be with Peter!" Tony cried as he sat on his bed, staring up at Bucky and Steve who looked seconds away from leaving the room. "I not tired! W-Wanna play!"

"Kiddo, it's late. You have to go to bed," Steve begged the four year old who was now hiccuping and doing that thing where he doesn't get enough air and nearly gives them heart attacks. "And you need to calm down so you can breath."

"B-Breathing's d-dumb!" Tony choked out and Bucky bit back a chuckle as he sat next to the kid and pulled him onto his lap.

"But ya need it to live. We'd be really sad if ya didn't breath, kid. And remember that time you cried so hard to threw up? You don't wanna be sick, do ya?" Bucky asked the kid who shook his head and cried into his chest.

"Need help?" Peter asks as he walks into the room, freshly showered even though he'd told the two super soldiers he'd be heading off to patrol as soon as Tony fell asleep, but they guessed that wouldn't be happening as long as the kid didn't actually fall asleep.

"P-Peter!" Tony cried as he made grabby hands at the teenager, looking utterly miserable as he coughed and sobbed. It was clear to all of them that Tony was tired after the long day he had and Bucky and Steve both knew that he'd only keep crying the longer he stayed up.

Peter walked over to the kid and picked him up, nodding at the two adults who sighed in relief and left the room as Tony's sobs turned into soft whimpers and sniffles. The teen settled down on the bed with Tony and began to tell him a story involving Spider-Man, churros and common every day people who'd been wearing Avengers masks while robbing a bank. In no time Tony was fast asleep and Peter smiled wide before tucking the kid in and leaving the room quietly.

"All done!" Peter told the adults who were in the living room watching TV still. Being an Avenger really wasn't all that great.

"Thanks, Pete," Steve says with a grateful smile on his exhausted face and the teenager has never seen a bunch of heroes looking this worn out, not even after a battle.

"Anytime!"

"Going out still?" Clint asks as he stands up from the couch and stretches.

"Yep, why, wanna join?" Peter asks the blonde archer with a smirk.

"I've been dying for some action. Let me get suited up and we'll head out."

Peter nods and heads off to get into his suit. It's not often that he gets to patrol with an Avenger, but when he does, his favorites to go out with are Iron Man and Hawkeye. The archer was fun to be around and always made it a competition to see who stopped the most bad guys in a night. Peter had won the last time by a person.

*

Tony wakes up with a slight headache from all the crying and feeling confused. Wasn't Peter with him before he fell asleep?

Wanting to get answers, Tony grabs his bear and struggles to get off his bed. Once his tiny feet hit the ground, Tony heads towards the bedroom door and opens it. The hall is dimly lit, probably FRIDAY lighting up a path for him. It was already quiet, meaning it was late and Peter was probably asleep by now. He began to head across the hall to Peter's room, but a strange noise in the living room caught his attention. Hugging his teddy bear closer to his chest, Tony gulped before heading out to investigate. He could be strong and brave like Spider-Man and the rest of the Avengers. If there was a bad guy out there, Tony could stop him. But if there was a bad guy, wouldn't FRIDAY have alerted Stevie and Bucky by now?

Gathering up the small bit of courage he had, Tony stepped out from around the corner and entered the living room where a familiar red and blue costumed hero stood entering from the window. Tony gasped in shock and excitement, dropping his bear before saying, "You're Spider-Man!"

The hero let out a shriek and jumped about a foot in the air before turning around to face the child who was staring at him with wide brown eyes and a small finger was pointing at him.

"Uh-oh," the teen behind the mask mumbled as he stood frozen in his place. "Uh yes, I-I am Spider-Man! Yes!"

"You sound familiar," Tony points out with a small frown as he cocks his head to the side in concentration, lips set in a pout and eyes squinting as he stared at the mask vigilante.

"Wha's goin' on here?" A tired and grumpy Bucky Barnes asks as he walks into the living room, lights turning on by FRIDAY. "Tony, why are you out of bed? And you're late there, Spider Boy."

"I uh- it was uh Hawkeye's fault! He stopped at that diner that gave us the free cheeseburgers that time we stopped those guys from robbing them," the teenager explained nervously and Bucky sighed and shook his head.

"I heard somethin' and came to inves- invest'gate and saw Spider-Man!" Tony told Bucky who held back his coo at Tony's struggle with the word investigate.

"Okay, alright. You came, you saw and now time for bed."

"Bu' Spider-Man." Tony pouted as he picked up his bear and looked at his caretaker sadly.

Bucky and the teen shared a look before Spider-Man nodded and Bucky sighed.

"Alright. Bed soon, got it? Stevie and I aren't lettin' ya sleep in tomorrow," Bucky warned the kid before heading off back to bed as the hero took a deep breath before approaching a confused and excited four year old who'd gone back to staring at him completely star struck.

Tony watched as his favorite hero walked towards him before kneeling down to be at eye level with him.

"Hey, kiddo, think you can keep this a secret if I tell you who I am? Well, I mean, the Avengers know so you don't have to like keep it a secret from them, but like, just don't mention it to anybody outside of the Avengers, got it?" The hero rambled nervously as he placed his hands on Tony's shoulders.

"Got it," Tony told him, nodding enthusiastically and watched with wide eyes as the hero removed his mask. "Peter! Wow! You're Spider-Man!"

"Heh, yeah I kinda am."

Tony felt like he was dreaming. His favorite hero and his best friend were the same person? His little brain couldn't process the information fast enough, but he started asking the teen a bunch of questions, all ranging from how he got his powers to his suit and his web. Tony didn't even notice when Peter picked him up and carried him to the room where Peter was staying at.

Tony only paused to take some air and yawn, his rambling growing quieter and quieter until he fell asleep on Peter's shoulder mumbling about wanting to be Spider-Man when he grows up.

*

In the morning, Bucky and Steve found the two boys curled up together on the bed still fast asleep. Bucky snickered and Steve had FRIDAY take a picture and put it on the private album of Tiny Tony they were making to show adult Tony once he was back. Clint called it blackmail, the rest just agreed that they were good memories and Tony deserved to have some happy ones as a kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I survived the 50 below zero weather last week :)
> 
> So next week you guys are getting your regular Monday update plus a Valentine's Day chapter


	10. Firsts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 5 times the team realized parenting was hard plus the 1 time they realize that every good and bad moment are worth it

1)

The first time Tony has a nightmare, it happens just a few days after Peter's weekend visit. He'd only been asleep for two hours while Bucky, Steve and Sam were watching a movie in the living room on the super soldier's floor. They always had FRIDAY monitoring the child, so when she alerted them that Tony appeared to be in distress, Bucky quickly ran down the hall to Tony's bedroom and walked in. There on the bed, the child was tossing and turning and his favorite bear was thrown on the ground.

"Hey, kiddo," Bucky says softly as he sits on the bed with the kid, stroking his back and trying to wake him up. "Tony, wake up, buddy. I'm right here, it's okay."

"M-Mama!" Tony cries as he sits up and throws himself at Bucky with tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Hey, it's alright, kid. Shh, it's okay," Bucky coos as he holds Tony close and rubs his back, pressing kisses to his head.

"M-Mama," Tony hiccups as he pulls away from Bucky's hold to look up at the man with frightened brown eyes.

"Kiddo, wanna talk about it?" Bucky asks quietly and carefully, unsure of what else he could do to make the child feel better. He used to be good at comforting people, once upon a time, but after 70 years of being HYDRA's weapon, Bucky wasn't as good with things he used to be able to do. Especially not comforting.

"I-It was scary!" Tony wailed, clutching at Bucky's shirt tightly with both hands. "I w-was alone and it h-hurt here." Tony pointed at his chest and Bucky froze for a few seconds. "And i-it was hot a-and d-dark."

Bucky was aware of the story of how Tony got his arc reactor, but he'd joined the team long after Tony had gotten it removed so he'd only been told stories of Tony's struggles with it. Tony himself never liked talking about it. The only time that he did, he'd been tipsy and crying about it to him and Loki after a particularly hard battle. He knew adult Tony still had nightmares of Afghanistan, but kid Tony didn't have any of those memories, so was it possible that he was starting to remember via nightmares?

"You're safe here, kiddo. No one is ever going to hurt you as long as I'm here, okay?" Bucky told the kid, wiping away his tears gently and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"P-Promise, mama?"

"I promise, baby."

Tony curled up into Bucky's chest and the super soldier held the child tightly, wishing he could make the nightmares disappear with just a touch.

Later, when Steve is on his way to his room after Sam left to his floor, he notices Tony's bedroom door is open and he looks inside to find both Bucky and Tony fast asleep with his best friend curled protectively around the four year old who's clinging to him. Steve simply smiles fondly and closes the door before heading to his room.

2)

The first time Tony throws a tantrum, it's the single most amusing, frightening, shocking and headache inducing thing the kid's ever done. It happens the day after his first nightmares and Tony was playing with his Lego sets in the living room of the communal floor with his stuffed bear next to him (that thing went everywhere with Tony). Bruce and Steve were making dinner while Clint and Bucky sat on the couch watching TV and keeping an eye on a very quiet Tony. Bucky couldn't even leave the room without Tony following after him, so with Tony being distracted, Bucky figured he could go find Natasha who was down in the gym sparring with Sam. He needed to let some pent up frustration out after last night.

Of course though, it didn't take long for Tony to notice that his favorite person in the entire world (besides Spider-Man/Peter) was gone. He looked up at where Bucky had been, wanting to show him the replica of Avengers Tower he'd done with the Lego pieces, but frowned when he only saw Clint on the couch and playing on his phone.

Tony got up from his spot on the ground and went off in search of Bucky while clutching at his bear. Bucky isn't in the kitchen nor in the bathroom so Tony pouts and searches the rest of the communal floor before heading back to the living room and bursting into tears. Clint dropped his phone at the sudden noise and Steve and Bruce ran into the room quickly thinking Tony had gotten hurt.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Steve asked as he knelt in front of the four year old who only kept crying louder and pushing the blonde's hands away from him.

"Clint, did something happen?" Bruce asked the archer who was staring at the four year old with wide eyes as he picked up his phone.

"Uh no. He was fine a moment ago, but then he got up and- oh. It's cause B-U-C-K-Y isn't here," Clint replied and that's when both Bruce and Steve noticed that Bucky was indeed not in the room and most likely the reason for Tony's tears.

"FRIDAY, where's Bucky?" Steve asked the AI as he tried to approach the child who only wailed louder and backed away from the blonde, hiccuping about Bucky over and over again.

"Sargent Barnes is currently in the gym with Miss Romanov and Mr Wilson," FRIDAY replied.

"Tell him we have a Tony problem with a capital p," Clint tells the AI as he covers his ears since the kid was now screaming bloody murder.

"Want mama!" Tony screamed over and over, sitting down on the ground and only screaming louder when someone tried to approach him so eventually they all just stayed back and watched Tony cry and scream from a safe distance.

The elevator doors open about a minute later and Bucky rushes out with Natasha and Sam following, all three wincing at the loud sounds coming from one tiny human.

"Hey kiddo, I'm right here," Bucky says gently as he kneels down in front of Tony, heart racing with worry and fear. After FRIDAY had informed them that something was wrong with Tony, Bucky had been thinking the worst scenarios, but really, nothing could prepare him for the amount of heartbreak he's feeling at watching the kid scream and cry as if someone were hurting him. "Tony, come on, kid."

"M-Mama!" Tony cried, tears and snot staining his red face as he launched himself at the super soldier who easily caught him and held him tight.

"Shh, I'm right here, Tony. I'm sorry I left, yeah? It's okay."

Bucky stood up and rocked the child gently, sending his teammates a reassuring glance, they all headed towards the kitchen to give the two some space. Tony was clutching at Bucky's sweaty shirt, still crying and struggling to get air into his lungs.

"Hey, you gotta breath for me, buddy," Bucky instructs once he notices the wheezing, trying not to panic after the last time Tony had cried this hard. The kid had started turning purple since he wasn't getting any air into his lungs.

Tony coughed and cried and Bucky did his absolute best to comfort the kid before he made himself sick from the amount of crying he was doing. Bucky didn't think that leaving the kid alone for a few minutes would be such a big problem, but he should have realized it with the way Tony had been clinging to him since they woke up that morning.

Tony falls asleep in Bucky's arms eventually, whimpering softly and clutching at his bear. Bucky simply keeps holding the child and wishing he never has to hear such heartbreaking sounds again.

3)

The first time they lose Tony, it's on a Friday afternoon and he gets lost in the tower. He was supposed to be playing with his stuffed animals while Sam and Clint kept an eye on him, the rest being down in the gym training. Just because there hadn't been any major villains to take down, it didn't mean that they could slack. Sam's phone goes off with a call from his mother and he quickly answers it, leaving Clint who was playing a video game on the large screen of the communal living room.

With those two distracted, Tony looked up before grabbing his favorite stuffed bear named Mister Snuggles and headed towards the elevators that opened a few seconds later.

"FRIDAY, not a word, please," Tony tells the AI as he hugs his bear tightly as the elevator begins to move.

"Got it, little boss," FRIDAY replies though she sounds a bit hesitant, but knows that she can't go against her boss' orders, even if said boss is currently four years old.

*

"Where's the kid?" Sam asked once he walked back into the living room, tucking his phone into his back pocket and looking around the room hoping to spot the familiar head of messy dark curls.

"He's right there playing," Clint replies distractedly as he kept playing whatever shooting game he'd gotten last week.

"Uh, no he isn't, Barton. You lost the kid!" Sam exclaimed as he searched every possible hiding place in the communal floor of the tower, growing more and more frustrated when their tiny genius was nowhere to be found.

"Shit, Bucky and Steve are going to kill me," Clint grumbled as he helped Sam search the floor. "FRIDAY, where's Tony?"

"Little Boss has forbidden me from revealing his location," FRIDAY replies and Sam and Clint share 'we're so dead' looks before running off towards the elevators.

They couldn't find the four year old anywhere within the floors the team lived in, so swallowing down their fear, they headed down to the gym where Bucky took one look at the two without the kid and glared at them.

"Where is he?" Bucky asked in an eerily calm manner as he grabbed a towel and began to wipe off his sweat.

"Um, funny story," Clint began to say, chuckling nervously as Steve and Natasha turned to glare at the two as well. "or not that funny, but uh we can't find him and FRIDAY was instructed by the Hobbit to not tell us where he is."

"Where have you searched?" Natasha asked in that scary calm voice, her green eyes hard as she eyed her two teammates who lost their mini teammate.

"Uh all of our floors," Sam replied. "You don't think he's down in his workshop, right?"

"I'll go check," Wanda offered and her and Vision quickly left the gym.

*

"Hi!" A tiny familiar voice greeted Pepper from the doorway of her office and she looked up to see Tony standing there with Mister Snuggles and as usual, no shoes on his feet. Well, at least he was wearing pants this time.

"Tony? What are you doing here, sweetheart? Did someone bring you?" Pepper asked as she got up from her seat and walked over to the kid who raised his arms up and the CEO picked him up with a small worried frown on her face.

"I wanted to see you," Tony tells her with a small pout, not explaining the how he got there or who brought him.

"Tony," she said in her 'I know you did something bad so tell me now' voice that she only ever used with Tony because, well, he was Tony.

"I was lonely. Sammy was talking to his mommy and Clint was playing a game."

"And the others?"

"In the gym."

Pepper sighed but pressed a kiss to the kid's forehead before going back over to sit in her chair and finish up the email she was typing as Tony busied himself with playing with his bear. She then sent a text to the team telling them that Tony was with her in her office. Tony was too busy to notice when Steve and Bucky walked in minutes later, relieved expressions on their faces as they saw the child safe in Pepper's arms.

"Lose something?" Pepper asks them in amusement, making Tony look up and grin innocently at the two super soldiers who looked at him with disapproving frowns.

"Yeah, he's a little over three feet tall and four years old. Have you seen him?" Steve asked her playfully and Tony giggled into his bear.

"A little boy who's in trouble for leavin' without tellin' anyone anythin'," Bucky says and Tony mumbles a little oops before hopping off of Pepper's lap and heading towards his caretakers.

"I sorry, Bucky, but I wanted to see Pep-Pep," Tony tells Bucky who sighs and shakes his head.

"Then ya should've told someone, Tony, you can't walk away from whoever's watchin' ya without sayin' anythin'," Bucky tells him as he crouches down in front of the little boy who nods and looks at him with big brown eyes that are slowly filling up with tears and Steve rolls his eyes knowing what's coming. "Okay, hey, no tears. Let's go upstairs and give you a snack and you can apologize to Clint and Sam for scaring them."

Bucky picked up Tony who snuggled into him and Steve and Pepper shared amused looks. Bucky was a big ol' softie when it came to Tony. Both adult and kid version.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't keep spoiling Tony," Steve told Pepper who laughed and ushered him out after Bucky and Tony.

4)

The first time Tony gets sick, it's pure and utter chaos among the team. Everyone but Bucky and Steve run around like headless chicken not knowing what to do.

It starts in the morning when Tony walks into the kitchen of Steve and Bucky's floor where the two super soldiers are working on breakfast and Sam is there for a visit. Natasha and Clint had gone off on a super secret mission two days ago and were set to return later that day while Bruce was down in his lab working on a time sensitive project and Wanda and Vision took advantage of their day off to go out and explore the city. Steve's the first to notice Tony walk into the kitchen rubbing at his eyes and his chubby cheeks flushed red instead of the usual soft rosy pink they usually are.

"Tony? You feeling okay, buddy?" Steve asked worriedly as he went over to crouch in front of the child who up close looked a little sweaty. He reached a hand up to press it against Tony's forehead and winced at the heat coming from the little boy. "Oh, Tones, you have a fever."

"He's sick?" Bucky and Sam asked at the same time, looking over at the kid worriedly who still hadn't said anything.

"Does something hurt, kid?" Bucky asked as he walked over to Tony, crouching down next to Steve who was still feeling Tony's face to make sure he really did have a fever. FRIDAY confirmed it for them though, when she said Tony's temperature was 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tony pointed to his head and throat before he sneezed into the crook of his elbow a few times and whimpered in pain. The three men in the room stared at the child sympathetically before Bucky picked him up and Steve went off to search for some medicine.

"Uh Steve, he's four. He's going to need children's medicine, not adult's," Sam told his friend who'd returned with a bottle of pills.

"I forgot about that. I'll go buy some," Steve says as he sets the bottle to the side and heads off to his room to grab his wallet.

Tony looked sad and miserable as he laid his head on Bucky's shoulder, sniffling and coughing slightly as Sam finished making breakfast.

*

By lunchtime, Tony was fast asleep on the couch with his favorite red blanket and Mister Snuggles when Clint and Natasha returned from their mission. They took one look at the sleeping child and just knew something was wrong. Tony was breathing through his mouth and even then, his breathing sounded off and his cheeks were still flushed with the fever that hadn't gone down much since that morning. Natasha frowned in concern as she hurried over to the child and crouched down to be at level with him. She stroked his cheek with two of her fingers and sighed at the amount of heat coming from the little boy who shifted slightly in his sleep.

"Oh, hey, you're back," Bucky says quietly as he walks into the room with a bucket and the front of his shirt stained with something that Clint would rather not now.

"Yeah, what's wrong with the Hobbit?" Clint asked quietly as he stared down at the child who looked a little uncomfortable in his sleep.

"He's got the flu," Bucky tells them as he sets the bucket down by Tony's head before running his metal hand through the messy dark curls and untangling a few gently. "He threw up a few minutes ago and his fever hasn't gone down much since we discovered he was sick this morning."

"Did Bruce take a look at him?" Natasha asks as she stands up and looks at Bucky who nods.

"Nothin' serious. We just need to keep his fever down, medicine every few hours and plenty of liquids to prevent any dehydration. If his fever gets any higher we'll take him down to medical and Bruce said he'd start Tony on an IV. Stevie's goin' overboard with the mother hen thing, though."

"And you're not? Your kid is sick and you're acting like it's no big deal," Clint teases the ex assassin who shrugged.

"I'm used to watchin' over sick punks," Bucky explained, looking over when Steve entered the room. "Speak of the devil."

"Let the kid sleep," Steve tells them as he begins to usher the three out of the living room with a frown. "He needs all the rest he can get right now. And Buck, please go change out of that puke stained shirt."

"Gross, I really didn't want to know," Clint complains as he heads off to the kitchen for something to eat.

Later that day, Tony was sitting on the couch sniffling miserably while the others ran around trying to make the four year old as comfortable as possible. Meanwhile Bucky and Steve shared amused glances every time Tony coughed or sneezed and someone from the team hoovered over the child as if afraid he would break like glass. Tony took this to his advantage though and would ask them to cuddle him or bring him drinks and on the one occasion, food that he later threw up on Clint.

Eventually Tony falls asleep on Bucky's chest after they'd all settled down to watch a movie per the sick child's request and Clint watched as Bucky didn't even flinch when a trail of drool landed on his shirt.

"I don't know how you do it, Barnes. You get covered in snot and puke and you act like it's just water," Clint told Bucky who shrugged carefully, his metal hand rubbing circles on Tony's back.

"I know he's not really my kid, but as a parent, ya kinda get used to stuff like this, I guess," Bucky replied as he stared down at Tony who finally looked peaceful after the long day he'd had. "Besides, I had little sisters at one point, so it's not much different then getting peed on."

"Gross." A few mumbled.

They fall silent after that and Bucky's drifting off to sleep, but of course the peace doesn't last long because Tony wakes up and a few seconds after he does, he throws up on Bucky again. Bucky only sighs and stands up with the kid in his arms, grumbling something about a shower before he leaves the room with Tony crying in his arms.

5)

The first time Tony gets hurt, they'd taken him to the park since it was a pretty warm day for September with the sun shinning and birds chirping as if it were still summer. Steve had planned a picnic and they'd picked up Peter on the way to a park further from the tower where less people went to. Tony was bouncing with excitement as he held Peter's hand as they all walked towards a shady spot to set up their picnic. Steve and Bruce had packed enough sandwiches and fruit for them all while Bucky had packed a sweater for Tony in case it got cold so he wouldn't get sick again and a few toys for him in case he didn't want to play on the playground.

Of course though, as was usual by now, Tony wanted to play Spider-Man with Peter as the two headed towards the playground after eating their lunch, not hearing Steve's warning to be careful and to not go too far.

"You worry too much," Clint had teased Steve who rolled his eyes.

"With a four year old, you can never be too careful. We don't need him wandering off like he did back in the tower that day," Bucky explained to Clint who was laying on the grass with his shades on and probably ready to take a nap.

Bucky and Natasha had a conversation in Russian, Bruce read a book, Clint slept and Steve drew in his sketchbook. Sam was off visiting his family for a few days, there was still no sign of Thor and Loki and Vision and Wanda had stayed back at the tower in case any emergencies popped up. It was so far a good day, but of course something just had to happen. No day was a normal peaceful day with a child.

It started when Bucky had looked up and Tony was nowhere to be seen, but then they heard his cry of pain that turned into loud sobbing and they're all rushing towards Tony who's on his hands and knees with a kid much bigger and definitely older than him glaring down. Peter gets there first and starts inspecting Tony while glaring at the bigger kid who flinches slightly.

Tony's knees are bleeding a little and the palms of his hands are scrapped and Bucky has to swallow down his anger because this is just a stupid kid who had nothing better to do than to pick on a small four year old. The others don't really control their anger and the kid eventually runs off, but Bucky and Peter focus their entire attention to Tony who's still crying from the pain.

"Hey, kiddo, remember to breath," Bucky instructs the four year old who's coughing and not getting much oxygen into him. It was a problem with Tony anytime he cried, he'd stop breathing and one time he scared them all when he started turning purple.

"H-Hurts!" Tony cried once he regained some oxygen.

"Let's get you cleaned up. There's a first aid kit in the car," Steve says as he stands up and Bruce says that he'll go get the kit and jogs off.

Bucky stands up with Tony in his arms, careful of his injuries and kisses his head as they all start to head back towards their picnic with an upset child. Bucky sits on the blanket and Steve carefully rolls up the legs of Tony's sweatpants, looking sympathetic at the cuts on the child's knees. Of course though, upon looking at his knees and the blood, Tony began to cry loudly again, attracting the attention of an elderly couple sitting on a bench not that far.

"Hey, kid, don't look at it," Bucky told the child just as Bruce reached them with the first aid kit and took Steve's old spot to clean up the cuts.

Peter sat next to Bucky and handed Tony Mister Snuggles, talking to him to keep him distracted. Meanwhile the others began to pack up the mess they'd made.

"Alright, buddy, what Band-Aid do you want?" Bruce asked as he pulled out boxes of cartoon themed bandages that Clint always bought.

Tony sniffled as he looked through the designs, pouting a little when he didn't see any Spider-Man ones, but eventually settled for Paw Patrol.

"See? I knew all these bandages would come in handy some day," Clint told them with a huff as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I get you buying Avengers or the Frozen ones, but Paw Patrol? Seriously? Didn't think you were that much of a giant baby," Natasha says as she looks over at Clint who sticks his tongue out at her and Tony giggles slightly.

"Paw Patrol is a good show, alright?"

On the drive home, Tony fell asleep sitting between Peter and Bucky while Natasha drove them home.

+1)

The first time that every difficult moment is worth it, is on a particularly bad night for the team. Sometimes, those bad days where years of trauma just crept up on them for no reason. All day they'd all been a little more on the quiet side and often times finding themselves preferring to be alone and of course Tony picked up on their moods. 

He was quiet too and did as he was told, not putting up a fight when Steve served him vegetables with his mac and cheese for lunch. He'd played quietly with himself instead of going up to one of them like he usually did. Throughout the day however, Tony made sure to cuddle up to each one of them for as much as he could and it made their hearts swell with love for Tony who was doing his absolute best to make them all feel better.

And before he left them to go cuddle to next person, he'd whisper a very soft 'I love you' and would press a kiss to their cheeks before heading off.

All those tears, screaming, long nights and doubts were worth it.

They definitely were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to my peeps who use celcius, 101.2 = 38.4
> 
> Also, because I've been babysitting kids since I was thirteen, I can seriously say that Paw Patrol is a good show
> 
> Extra update on Thursday !!


	11. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Adults are stupid!" Tony exclaims upset before getting off the bed and leaving Steve's room quickly before any of the two super soldiers can say anything.

"Steeb?" Tony calls with a mouthful of Goldfish crackers as he walks down the hall of the floor he slept in heads into the blonde soldier's room where said man is standing in front of the mirror fixing his hair and obviously ready to go out.

"Oh, hey buddy, what are you up to? Thought you were hanging out with Clint and Sam?" Steve asks as he watches the kid walk further into the room and go sit on his bed.

"They had to go see Fury with Nat." Tony shrugged as he bounced on Steve's bed a bit. "Where are you going? Can I come too? I'm bored. And lonely."

Steve smiles fondly at him as he walks over to kneel down in front of the child who's pouting.

"I wish I could, buddy, but I'm doing grown up things and I can't bring you along."

"Are you going on a date 'cause it's Val-tine's Day? That's what Wanda says when her an' Vision go do adult things an' why they're not here right now."

Steve laughs and kisses Tony's forehead before saying, "Yes, it's a date with Sharon. You remember her, right? You said she was really pretty when she came by the other day with doughnuts."

Tony makes a face that looks like a mix between disappointed and like he didn't completely understand the reason why he couldn't go with Steve and Sharon on their date. What was so special about a date that he couldn't go? He just wants to have some fun and being inside is boring, even if it is really cold out.

"If ya don't leave soon, you'll be late. Again," Bucky says as he enters the room, eyes drifting from Steve to Tony who was pouting at Steve and looking utterly miserable. "What's goin' on?"

"Adults are stupid!" Tony exclaims upset before getting off the bed and leaving Steve's room quickly before any of the two super soldiers can say anything.

"He's upset because I won't take him on my date," Steve explains to his best friend who nods in understanding.

"I'll go find him and cheer him up. He's been kinda down all day," Bucky tells him, clapping Steve on the shoulder before grinning. "Have fun tonight! Remember to use protection!"

"Jerk!" Steve calls after his laughing best friend who leaves the room in search of their mini billionaire.

"FRIDAY, where's Tony?" Bucky asks when Tony's nowhere to be found on their floor. Mister Snuggles and Tony's favorite blanket are missing from his room, so he's probably gone to off to sleep either on Clint's floor or Loki's. Or he's somehow called Happy to get him to take him to the Parkers. It happened once and a very amused May Parker had called them while the whole team was panicking about having lost the kid. Again. Happy apparently liked to see the world burn.

"Little Boss is on the penthouse floor, Sergeant Barnes," FRIDAY replies and Bucky starts making his way towards the elevator where it's ready and waiting for him.

"Don't tell him I'm on my way."

"I won't. I've also locked and restricted his access to rooms that contain dangerous things."

"Good thinking, sweetheart."

"Just trying my best!"

Bucky chuckled and shook his head fondly at the cheery AI as the elevator took him up to a floor he hasn't stepped on since their Tony was turned into a four year old. The doors opened and the lights were dimmed, soft crying coming from the living room and Loki's familiar accent murmuring softly to the child. Stepping out into the room, Bucky raises an eyebrow when he finds the black haired prince sitting on the large L shaped couch with a crying four year old on his lap.

"The child will not tell me why he is so upset," Loki tells Bucky who chuckles softly as he sits next to them on the couch, leaving no space between him and Loki where he can now see that Tony's crying into Loki's chest while clutching at the black sweater the mage is wearing.

"He's upset 'cause Stevie won't take him on his date with Sharon," Bucky explains and Loki frowns before looking down at Tony with a displeased expression on his face, though Bucky can see Loki's features soften a little as he realizes that it's only Tony throwing a tantrum and not hurt. "Kiddo, ya don't gotta be so upset over this. I explained why you can't go out with Wanda and Vision every time they go on a date and the same goes for Stevie and Sharon."

"B-But I wanna g-go o-on a date!" Tony wails as he removes his face from Loki's chest to look up at Bucky. "Is not fair!"

Tony began to cry louder this time and Loki only sighed as he held the child tighter and more protectively. Bucky sighed knowing the real problem here was that Tony had skipped out on his nap and had woken up earlier than usual, so he was tired and as it always happened when he was tired, he cried over everything.

"Well how 'bout this, you, Lolo and I can have our own date right here. We can watch any movie you want and eat junk food in our pjs. Just us three, yeah?" Bucky suggested as he ran a hand through Tony's hair.

"R-Really?" Tony sniffled as he looks between Loki and Bucky with hopeful brown eyes and really, who can say no to the kid. Well, usually Loki can, but even he caves in often.

"Of course, Anthony. Just us three," Loki agrees.

"Yeah! Please!"

"Alright, well lets go get changed and then we'll come back up to have our date," Bucky says as he takes Tony from Loki after standing up.

*

Tony's in the living room dressed in his Spider-Man pajamas and wrapped in his favorite blanket as he searched for a movie on the TV while Bucky and Loki grabbed the junk food and drinks.

"So how'd you know that Tony was up here?" Bucky asks as he pulls the bag of popcorn out of the microwave and pours them into a bowl.

"FRIDAY told me he was upset," Loki told him, looking over at Bucky after pouring apple juice into one of Tony's plastic cups.

"FRIDAY? She didn't tell me you were up here."

"Well you didn't ask," FRIDAY replies smugly and Bucky rolls his eyes as Loki snorts in amusement.

"I found a movie! Hurry!" Tony calls out to them from the living room.

Bucky grabs the bowl while Loki handles the drinks and they walk over to the living room where they sit on either side of Tony. The kid picked How To Train Your Dragon for a change instead of a Disney movie (much to Bucky's relief. He's not sure how many more times he can watch The Little Mermaid before he bans all Disney movies from the tower).

"You liking your date so far, kid?" Bucky asks Tony who's munching on popcorn and hugging Mister Snuggles close.

"A lot! Thank you!" Tony tells them, leaning up to kiss Bucky's cheek and then Loki's.

When they fall asleep later that night, Bucky's laying on his back with Tony on his chest and Loki tucked into his side with Bucky's arms around both of them and blankets on the three that an amused Steve Rogers places on them before leaving with an indication to FRIDAY to take a picture and send it to everyone on the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little extra update for Valentine's Day as a thank you to all of you !!
> 
> Like I've probably said before, romantic relationships aren't going to be important in this story. They'll probably be hinted at or mentioned in passing, but nothing important to worry about in case any ship I mention isn't your cup of tea.


	12. Mama Duck Loki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Guess Tony's taking Loki's last name now," Clint jokes when the team spot Loki walk into the kitchen later that day with Tony following after him, much like he did with Bucky that first day. "The duckling imprinted on someone new."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one goes out to my bb, my platonic soulmate who wanted the return of duckling Tony imprinting on someone new plus jealous Bucky

Thor and Loki return the first week of October on a chaotic Saturday morning. The whole team is together for the first time in over a week after missions and visiting relatives and even Rhodey is in after coming back from overseas. Tony's running around in just his underwear refusing to wear clothes, Peter's running after him trying to get him to at least wear a shirt ("But why?" "'Cause it's cold, kid, now let Peter help you put on a shirt."). Clint, Sam and Rhodey are arguing over some movie Clint thinks is good, Natasha and Wanda are painting their nails at the breakfast bar while giggling (and since when does Natasha giggle?). Steve and Bucky are making breakfast (Saturday tradition), and Bruce and Vision are bent over a tablet running over some equations. It's a normal Saturday, or at least it is until Thor arrives with Loki.

"Stranger Danger," Clint jokes when the two gods walk into the communal floor, Thor with a giant grin and Loki masking his hesitance with indifference though Bucky smirks because his friend kinda looks like a little kid does after being yelled at by their parents.

"Greetings my fellow SHIELD brothers and sisters!" Thor greets them all in his usual boisterous tone and opening his arms wide as he stares at them all. "'Tis good to see you all again after so long."

"Good to have ya back, man," Sam tells him.

"Cat got your tongue, Lokes?" Bucky asks his best friend with a mischievous smirk and Loki turns to glare at him.

Tony's tiny footsteps are heard running back towards the kitchen, shrieking as Peter probably used his webs on him and the four year old stops when he sees the Norse gods blocking the entrance to the kitchen. Tony eyes them curiously as Peter stands behind the kid, smiling at Thor and Loki who smiled at the teenager in greeting.

"Hello, young one. What might your name be?" Thor asks, voice surprisingly gentle as he squats down to be at level with Tony. Well sort of, Thor was still bigger than Tony at that level.

"I'm Anthony Romanov," the kid says and Bucky rolls his eyes fondly. Yesterday it'd been Anthony Barton before the archer angered Tony and he changed his last name back to Barnes. He was Anthony Barnes more often than anything else, but never Stark. They'd noticed that Tony never used his own last name and they wondered if the kid was starting to remember more of his past than he was letting on.

 _"Adorable,"_ Natasha says in Russian with a fond and proud look on her face.

"I was unaware you had acquired such an adorable child, Natasha," Thor tells the Widow, playing along to Tony's game.

"And what's your name, sir?" Tony asked, getting Thor's attention again clearly not happy that the blonde god had stopped paying attention to him for even a brief second.

"I apologize for not introducing myself. I am Thor and this is my brother Loki and we are friends of your family."

"Hmm, okay." Tony shrugged before going over to Bucky and raising his arms up and looking frustrated until Bucky picked him up.

"You two want breakfast?" Steve asked the two who walked further into the kitchen with Loki taking a seat next to the one where Bucky usually sat, still not acknowledging the child who was refusing to get dressed.

"I give up," Peter says playfully as he throws the small shirt at the child's head and going off to sit at the breakfast bar with Nat and Wanda as Tony giggles in victory.

Breakfast was served and Tony sat eating his breakfast happily on Bucky's lap. They never bothered actually setting him on a chair since Tony would only get onto the closet person's lap. Steve thought they should break that habit, but they didn't really care. If anything, they wanted to enjoy these little things for as long as they could.

Breakfast was louder than normal with Thor going on and on about his latest adventures back home while Loki sat rolling his eyes and teasing his brother while also slapping Bucky's hand away each time the super soldier tried poking or pinching him. Loki didn't pay any attention to Tony though, much to the child's displeasure since he loved being the center of attention and loved making new friends, so why was this new person friends with his Bucky but not him?

Tony makes a displeased noise as Bucky, taking advantage of the kid's distraction, manages to put the shirt on him and he glares down at the shirt with Olaf from Frozen on it. Peter hides his giggles at Tony's betrayed look that he sends Bucky who simply smiles down at the child to further irritate him.

When they all finished eating, they dropped their plates in the sink and Loki left the room with the intention of heading up to his floor. He frowned when he realized that the child was following him and turned to look at him.

"Yes?" He asks with a thin eyebrow raised, looking down at Tony who looked pretty funny standing in just his t-shirt and underwear and his hands on his hips.

"The elevator's for everyone," Tony replies as he gets on and Loki follows shortly after.

Loki realizes the child only got on because he did, since Loki's floor is the one under Tony's penthouse and they went past all the floors. When the doors opened on Loki's floor, the child walked out first, looking around the room and Loki followed after him.

Minutes later Bucky arrived looking amused and a pair of small pants draped over his metal arm. Tony was still too busy looking around Loki's floor and the mage was now sitting in the armchair by the large windows reading a book as if a four year old weren't in the room with him.

"Did he follow you here?" Bucky asked Loki as he walks over to sit on the arm chair next to Loki's.

"Yes. Is he always this... curious?" Loki asked as he set his book down and watched the four year old walk back into the living area.

"Oh yeah. Tony, come here, kid. Time to get your pants on," Bucky tells the child as he holds up a pair of jeans for Tony who sticks his tongue out and instead of walking over to Bucky, walks over to Loki and climbs onto his lap with minimal struggles.

"Do you require something, small human?" Loki asks the child on his lap, refusing to touch him more than he needs to.

"You talk funny, but I like it. And your hair's prettier than Bucky's," Tony says and Bucky gasps scandalized while Loki snorts and his lips turn upwards in a smirk. "Smells nicer too."

"Alright, that's it. Put your jeans on so we can go," Bucky says in mock anger and Tony giggles and shakes his head.

"No, wanna stay with Lolo," Tony tells him, cuddling into a slightly uncomfortable looking Loki who's clutching at his book unsure of what to do with his hands.

"Lolo's got things to do and I'm sure you want to go hang out with Peter."

"He's doing boring homework with Ned, so I wanna stay with Lolo, please."

"Anthony."

"James."

Loki snorted in amusement as he looked back and forth between the two like an interesting tennis match that he didn't want to miss a second of. Bucky was clearly getting frustrated and Tony was definitely seconds away from throwing a tantrum.

It did end in tears and Tony wearing the jeans Bucky had picked out for him. Bucky was standing in the middle of Loki's living room while Tony laid on the ground crying and trying to get his jeans off but Bucky used his right foot to gently kick Tony's hands away from the button and zipper. Loki looked unamused by the whole situation, not admitting that hearing the child so worked up over something silly actually hurt his heart a bit.

"You are so barbaric, Barnes," Loki eventually said, fed up by the situation as he stands up from his seat and goes over to pick up Tony who quiets his crying down. "Alright child, enough with the tears."

Tony only gives a small whimper and tucks his face into Loki's neck after throwing a glare at Bucky who rolled his eyes.

"I wanna stay with Lolo," Tony begged sadly as he looked at Bucky who sighed and shared a look with Loki who didn't protest.

"Alright, but be good, kid. If ya need anythin' have FRIDAY call me," Bucky said as he walked over to the kid and ruffled his hair.

"Okay." Tony sniffled, wiping his tears away with the back of his hand.

*

"Guess Tony's taking Loki's last name now," Clint jokes when the team spot Loki walk into the kitchen later that day with Tony following after him, much like he did with Bucky that first day. "The duckling imprinted on someone new."

"Am not a duckling!" Tony told Clint as he turned to glare at the archer, one tiny hand clutching at Loki's pant leg.

"Oh, that's right, you're a Hobbit."

"Clinton, stop bothering him," Natasha scolded her partner and slapped the back of his head as she walked past him, smiling down at Tony who smiled at her in thanks. That's why Nat was his favorite because she always defended him from Clint's teasing.

"Alright kid, lunch time," Bucky instructs as he sets Tony's plate at the table.

"Wanna eat with Loki," Tony says as he sees his plate and then looks over at where Loki's sitting next to Steve who's across from Bucky.

"Someone's jealous," Sam mumbles as he looks at Bucky who huffs as he places Tony's plate by Loki.

Bucky was totally not jealous. Especially not when Tony decided to spend the night on Loki's floor and just barely hugged Bucky goodnight before hurrying after Loki. Nope, he was so not jealous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working hard on doing two updates a week because sometimes one chapter isn't enough ;) If I can manage to do so, updates will now be on Mondays and Thursdays.
> 
> Also working on making chapters 16-20 like what if chapters. What if Tony had gotten de-aged to a different age? All five chapters will deal with Tony getting de-aged different ages and how the team would handle that.
> 
> Edit: Happy 2 months since this baby was started !! It's been a ride and I hope we can continue for much longer !!


	13. Sleepover At Peter's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I stay with Peter?" Tony perked up at that and he exclaimed his happiness once Bucky reaffirmed his statement. "I wanna stay with Peter! I wanna go!"

"Hey kiddo, let's have a chat," Bucky says as he picks up Tony who'd been sitting on the floor of the living room in Bucky and Steve's floor playing with some Hot Wheels.

"About what?" Tony asks curiously as he places his hands on Bucky's cheeks and giggles as his scruff tickles the palms of his hands.

"The team and I have to go away for a few days and we can't bring ya along," Bucky begins to say as he sits on the couch with Tony on his lap facing him so he catches the moment the child's happy expression falls and is replaced by fear and hurt. "Hey, no. We can't bring you because it's Avengers business and we don't want ya gettin' hurt, kiddo. It'll only be three days max, yeah? I promise we'll come back for you."

"But where will I go? I can't stay here alone."

"Well I talked to May and Peter and they'd be happy to have you stay with them for the weekend. What do you say?"

"I stay with Peter?" Tony perked up at that and he exclaimed his happiness once Bucky reaffirmed his statement. "I wanna stay with Peter! I wanna go!"

"Good. Stevie and I will help you pack your backpack tonight and then we'll head over to Peter's tomorrow, sound good?"

"Good."

Tony's excited up until Bucky and Steve walk him to the Parker's door in their apartment building in Queens. He stands between the two super soldiers, holding their hands as Steve knocks on the door and they wait for it to open.

"You okay, mo stoirín?" Steve asks gently as he looks down at the nervous looking child.

Tony only shrugs, but doesn't say anything as the door opens to reveal a smiling May Parker.

"Hi," Tony greets her softly, going up to hug her and she ruffles his hair affectionately.

"Hi, Tony. Ready to spend the weekend with Peter and I?" She asks the child who nods though he steps back to stand between Bucky and Steve again. "Hello boys, ready to be away from your child for a whole weekend?"

"Not really," Bucky answers honestly as he runs a hand through Tony's hair, smiling as the child leans into his side and clings to him.

"Kid, why don't you go put your backpack in Peter's room and then come back so we can say goodbye. We need to talk to May a bit," Steve tells Tony who nods quietly as he takes his backpack from Bucky before heading inside the apartment. "He's been having nightmares lately, but doesn't like to talk about them unless he's ready."

"Are they bad? Is he remembering things from his past?" May asks worriedly as she crosses her arms across her chest.

"He woke up screaming a few nights ago, but that's as bad as it's gotten. Usually it's FRIDAY who tells us when he's havin' one," Bucky replies, making sure that Tony doesn't come back soon. "If he does have a nightmare, don't be surprised if he's clingy and quiet in the morning. Other than that, he's a great kid, though."

"Who would have thought that Tony Stark as a kid was a total angel," Steve comments and the three adults laugh just as Tony returns with Mister Snuggles and a sad pout on his face. "Mo stoirín, came to say goodbye?"

Tony nods and lifts his arms towards Steve who picks him up immediately and kisses his cheeks. May watches as the two super soldiers say their goodbyes before Tony and her watch them leave.

"When's Peter home?" Tony asks as he goes to sit on the couch in the living room. It was a Friday, so Peter was at school and Tony meanwhile was bored and missing his family already.

"He should be home in an hour, jellybean. In the meantime, do you want anything to eat? Drink?" May asks as she walks over to Tony and sits on the arm rest of the couch and watches the kid fiddle with his bear's ear.

"I want cuddles, please," he says quiet and stretches his arms out towards her and she coos softly before sitting next to him and pulling Tony into her side.

When Peter gets home from school, Tony's fast to greet the teenager by jumping on him and thanks to Peter's fast reflexes, catches the child before they can both tumble. The two laugh and May shakes her head fondly at the two.

"Are you ready for a fun weekend, Spider Baby?" Peter asks as he carries Tony to his room to drop off his backpack.

Tony nods excitedly, his arms wrapped around Peter's neck as the teenager easily holds him up with one arm.

Peter decides that Queens can survive one day without him so he spends the rest of the afternoon with Tony and May. They eat dinner, watch a movie and then Peter's helping Tony in the bath. When it comes time for bed, Tony takes the top bunk with his Mister Snuggles and his favorite blanket.

It isn't long in the night when Tony wakes up crying and Peter's quick to help the child down the ladder before he tries to comfort him. He's aware of the nightmares, has been there at the tower for a few, so comforting Tony is easy now. He simply wraps Tony's blanket around him and Mister Snuggles and holds him tight, whispering reassuring words until Tony's fast asleep. Once Tony's asleep again, Peter tucks the child next to him and falls asleep right away with Tony snuggled into his side.

"How'd last night go?" May asked the next morning as she made her coffee and watched Peter pour himself some cereal into a bowl.

"He had a nightmare and woke up crying, but I quickly put him back to sleep," Peter tells her as he opens the refrigerator door and grabs the milk.

"That poor thing. He doesn't even catch a break as a kid."

Peter sits down to eat his breakfast while May reads the paper until Tony walks out of the bedroom still half asleep, hair a wild mess on his head and clutching at Mister Snuggles. May coos at the child who waves at them before going over to Peter who picks him up and places him on his lap.

"Do you want cereal, jellybean?" May asks the four year old who nods as he leans back against Peter tiredly.

"How'd you sleep, Spider Baby?" Peter asks the child as he goes back to eating his cereal with an arm around Tony's waist to keep him from falling.

Tony shrugs but says a little sadly, "Miss Bucky."

"They'll come back soon, jellybean," May replies as she sets a bowl in front of Tony and pours milk into it. "And I'm sure they miss you a lot, too."

Tony eats silently and slowly while Peter finishes his breakfasts and sits and helps the kid when he doesn't get enough cereal with his spoon or spills the milk. May watches the two with a fond smile and her heart swells when Tony giggles as he wiggles around when Peter tries to clean up his face. She's started to notice that Tony doesn't like getting cleaned up.

The two play up until lunch time and by then, Tony's already nodding off so after that comes nap time and while Tony sleeps, Peter works on his homework. Tony only lasts an hour asleep before he wakes up and is running around with renewed energy. Peter chases him around and May makes sure to take pictures and videos to show Bucky later on.

"Surrender!" Peter yells in a deep voice as he pins Tony down on the living room floor, tickling his sides as Tony laughs uncontrollably.

"N-Never!" Tony shouts back in between his giggles as he squirms trying to get free from Peter's hold.

They're playing Spider-Man vs Spider-Baby and have been for the past half an hour. It's been enough to completely distract Tony from the fact that he's been kinda sad about missing Bucky and the others.

It isn't until May's giving the child a bath that he goes quiet again, just sitting in the water and May does her best to cheer up the child. Peter's gone out on patrol, so it's not like she can call her nephew to help her out. Once dressed in his pajamas, May and Tony cuddle up on the couch while 'Rise of the Guardians' plays on the TV. Tony falls asleep not long after with his head on May's lap as he clutches at Mister Snuggles and his blanket is draped over him. Peter comes home sometimes after eleven and he carries the still sleeping child back to his room.

Sunday is better. Tony's less sad and the three of them go out for ice cream which is a nice distraction for the kid.

"Look at you, jellybean, you're all dirty," May coos at the child who's mouth is covered in chocolate syrup and sprinkles.

Tony simply grins and Peter snaps a picture of the child who keeps digging into his ice cream happily. Peter sends the picture to the group chat he has with Bucky, Steve, Pepper and Rhodey and is surprised when both Bucky and Steve reply which means their mission ended early and they'll probably be home soon. Rhodey's response is that he'll frame the picture so when adult Tony returns, he can embarrass him all the time when he sees it. Pepper replies with emojis, Steve with "aww, miss the little stinker" and Bucky went with "what a kid" but what he probably meant was that he missed him and couldn't wait to see him again. Bucky wasn't big on showing affection, hadn't been since living at the tower post HYDRA, but with Tony being a kid, he'd started getting better at it. In a way, Peter supposes, the kid came along to seal some cracks in the broken pieces in everyone. Peter included.

"What a happy jellybean," May comments with a smile as she watches Tony sing quietly to himself (a song from Moana, Peter realizes) while he finishes his ice cream and swings his legs back and forth, completely oblivious to Peter and May watching him.

"In a way, as bad as it may sound, it's a good thing that he doesn't remember anything from his actual childhood. Doesn't realize that his father wasn't the greatest father," Peter tells his aunt with a shrug.

"He deserved a break from all the bad things that have happened in his life, too bad the nightmares are still a thing."

The walk back to the apartment was short and uneventful, just Tony stopping to stare at a squirrel and petting a Golden Retriever, laughing when the dog licked his cheek in greeting and the dog's owner, which was a friend of May's, laughed and asked who the kid was.

"He's staying with us for the weekend. He's a family friend's kid," May explains, watching Peter crouch next to Tony and he too began to pet the dog who was excited by all the sudden attention.

They head back to the apartment after that and Tony manages to fall asleep within five minutes of sitting on the couch. He'd just barely managed to get one shoe off and his arm was hanging off the couch. It was amusing and it never got less funny each time the kid fell asleep in weird positions. Clint told him they'd found Tony fast asleep in the bathroom once and had nearly fallen into the toilet when Clint walked in to check on him and startled the kid awake.

The rest of their afternoon went by fast and relatively easy. Tony and Peter played some more, Peter went out on patrol and then Tony was fast asleep before his regular bedtime without even taking a bath. May was in the living room when the knock comes and she opens the door, smiling at Bucky who looked like he'd gone straight there after arriving in New York since he was still in his uniform.

"Hi James, come in," May greeted him, stepping aside to let the super soldier in her apartment just as Peter appeared down the hall still in his uniform and mask off.

"I beat you!" Peter exclaimed as he pointed a finger at Bucky who rolled his eyes fondly.

"Only 'cause ya cheated by climbing up the building, spider brat," Bucky told Peter.

"Did not, old man. Your age is just finally starting to show."

"Alright," May interrupted the two. "Tony's already asleep, but his things are packed and ready to go if you want to take him now."

Bucky thanks her before heading down the hall to Peter's room with the teenager leading the way. Tony is curled up in his blanket on Peter's bed with his thumb in his mouth which made Bucky raise an eyebrow at the sudden action, hoping it didn't develop into a habit. While Peter grabbed Tony's backpack from where it was placed on his desk, Bucky scooped up the child carefully and wrapped the blanket tighter around him as Tony mumbled in his sleep and settled his head on Bucky's shoulder.

"Thanks for everythin', May," Bucky tells her and she smiles and shakes her head.

"Anytime you guys need a babysitter, Pete and I are here to help out. He's a great kid," May says quietly as Peter hands Bucky Tony's backpack.

"Thanks for the offer, we'll probably end up taking you up on it a few times."

"It's no problem."

Bucky leaves shortly after with Tony unaware of the change in his surroundings or who's holding him. He sleeps peacefully and Bucky tucks the kid in bed next to him instead of taking Tony to his own room. He doesn't think letting the kid wake up in a different place on his own is good.

The next day in Queens, Peter finds a familiar bear on the ground by the bed and mumbles an, "Oh no."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mo stoirín means my little darling in Irish


	14. Have You Seen My Bear?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The problem comes at bedtime. After Tony's been bathed, changed and Bucky's tucking him in bed, it's when the kid asks for Mister Snuggles.

When Tony wakes up in the morning, he's confused about his surroundings. He's pretty sure he fell asleep in Peter's room last night, didn't he? Then why was he in Bucky's room? As he became more aware of his surroundings, Tony realized that he was curled up into a warm body with a familiar metal arm wrapped around him. Looking up, he saw Bucky fast asleep and Tony grinned excitedly before jumping on the man and chanting his name over and over again.

"Fuck, go back to sleep," Bucky mumbles tiredly, trying to swat Tony's hands away from his face without even opening his eyes.

"You said a naughty word so you owe me a dollar!" Tony told the super soldier who only grunted in response. "Hi Bucky! I missed you so so so so much!" Tony was yelling by now as he sat on Bucky's chest with a cheerful expression on his face that made Bucky's insides melt when he took a peek at the kid. "And Stevie and Legolas and Lolo and Nat and Wanda and-"

"Alright kid, I get it. You missed us all and you're very happy to be back, but please, go back to sleep again. It's way too early for you to be up, the sun isn't even up yet," Bucky pointed out as he looked around his still somewhat dark room.

"Is not early and I'm not sleepy. I'm hungry."

"FRIDAY, what time is it?"

"It is currently 10:26 am, Sergeant Barnes," FRIDAY replies in what can only be described as an amused tone.

"See, it's not early," Tony tells Bucky, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Then why is it so dark?"

"It may be because rain is predicted for noon," FRIDAY informed him and Bucky thanked her.

"Guess it's time to get up now, huh kid?" Bucky asked Tony as he sat up, Tony falling off his chest giggling loudly as Bucky pulled him back upright and kissed his cheeks multiple times. "Missed ya, kiddo."

"Missed you too."

They head up to the communal floor after getting dressed, Tony in Bucky's arms resting his head on the man's shoulder and clinging to him happily.

"Morning!" Tony greeted everyone happily as Bucky stepped off the elevator holding onto the child who had lifted his head to greet everyone.

"Morning, Anthony," Loki greets him with a raised eyebrow and amused smirk on his face as he eyed the super soldier and child. "Did you have fun at Peter's this weekend?"

"Lots'a fun! Aunt May took us out for ice cream yesterday."

"Yeah? Did you say thank you to May and Peter?" Steve asks him, watching fondly as the child is set on the ground and stands in front of the kitchen table where the blonde super soldier, Sam, Natasha, Loki, Wanda and Clint were sitting. The rest were probably still off sleeping after their long mission.

"I always say please and thank you, Steven," Tony tells him with a slight roll of his eyes and Wanda giggles as she goes back to eating her bowl of fruit.

"So sassy, Hobbit," Clint comments, but he too is looking fondly at the child who goes around giving everyone hugs and kisses until he eventually settles on Loki's lap, letting the god of mischief feed him some fruit from his own bowl. "So what'd you do all weekend?"

"Played with Peter and watched movies and had ice cream and lots'a fun things," Tony tells them as he takes Loki's fork and finishes up the mage's breakfast, not that Loki's complaining, he was still pretty tired from the mission and didn't have much of an appetite because of it.

"Eventful, you must be pretty exhausted," Natasha commented, trying to humor the child who nodded and exaggerated his next yawn which made them all laugh.

It's an easy day. Clint declares a lazy day, since it's cloudy and they're all pretty exhausted from the weekend so no one objects to it. They watch movies in the living room with Tony snuggled happily in between Loki and Bucky. After lunch, Tony takes a nap with Bucky and they get woken up an hour later due to the heavy rain and thunder. Tony simply snuggles closer to Bucky at a particularly loud rumble. Bucky makes sure to hold onto Tony a bit tighter for comfort.

After that, they play a few board games and then Steve orders pizzas for dinner and they watch more movies.

The problem comes at bedtime. After Tony's been bathed, changed and Bucky's tucking him in bed, it's when the kid asks for Mister Snuggles.

"Mister Snuggles? I haven't seen him all day," Bucky says as he looks around the kid's room, but only sees his other stuffed animals and random toys thrown about the room. He should probably consider making the kid pick up after himself before Steve walks in to yell at them both. Bucky's a bit of a pushover when it comes to Tony and Steve is the stricter parent most of the time.

"I want Mister Snuggles!" Tony cries as he gets off the bed and starts to look in his room before running off towards Bucky's room where he'd woken up that morning.

"What's going on?" Steve asks as he walks into Bucky's room after Tony lets out a wail and plops down on the ground to cry about Mister Snuggles.

"We can't find his damn bear," Bucky grunts out as he searches under his bed while Steve picks up Tony to try and comfort him.

"FRIDAY, can you ask the others if they've seen Tony's bear?" Steve asks the AI who replies with a 'Certainly, Captain.' "Hey, buddy, we'll find your bear, okay? I promise we'll find him. Just, please calm down before you make yourself sick."

Tony cries sadly into Steve's shoulder as Bucky heads out of the room with the blonde man following after him trying to comfort the kid. They head back down to the communal floor where everyone is and they look at Tony with sad looks as the kid continues to cry.

"Anything?" Bucky asks them, aware of the pleading tone his voice has taken. He just doesn't like it when the kid cries.

"Nope," Clint says with a shake of his head, wincing when Tony's crying only grows louder.

"We searched our floors, but I don't think you even brought the bear from Peter's," Natasha tells the two super soldiers who groan. She was right, Bucky had probably left it at Peter's last night since he'd gone to get Tony when he was already asleep.

"Should we go get it?" Wanda asks as she gets up from the couch, ready to go out and retrieve the bear, but then FRIDAY speaks up.

"Peter is on his way over with the bear. ETA of thirty seconds."

The team all let out a relieved sigh as they wait for the teenager to arrive, who will probably do so using the balcony as opposed to the private entrance designated for the team. Once Peter, in his suit, stumbles into the communal floor clutching a familiar bear, they all let out relieved sighs.

"Hi!" Peter greets them breathlessly, eyes softening when he sees Tony crying and completely unaware of Peter's presence. "I uh found this little guy when I got home from school and figured someone might be missing it."

"Look, Tony, it's Mister Snuggles," Steve coos at the child as he bounces him slightly to get his attention. Tony instantly looks up and when his eyes land on Peter and his beloved stuffed bear, the tears stop and he cries out happily as he makes grabby hands.

Peter walks forward with a grin and takes Tony before handing him his bear. Tony hugs Mister Snuggles tightly to his chest.

"Thank you, Peter," Tony tells the teenager with a slight sniffle, his eyes all red and puffy from the crying.

"You're welcome, Spider Baby. Sorry it took so long for me to find it and bring it back."

"Is okay. I know you have to help people. They need you more than me," Tony mumbles out tiredly, already more asleep than awake and it makes everyone's hearts break at that statement.

Peter's the most openly upset by that statement, however. The rest have been trained in some ways to mask what they're really feeling (eg, Bucky's stare goes blank and Natasha looks neutral), but sometimes they often forget that Peter's only a kid himself. So Peter frowns, eyes filling up with tears as he hugs Tony tighter to himself in a protective manner.

"But you're more important to me, little man," Peter says quietly into Tony's hair. "None of those people out there are my little brother."

Tony hiccups and hugs Mister Snuggles and Peter tighter, eyes closed and face hidden in the teenager's neck.

That night, Peter's the one who tucked Tony in bed and read him a bedtime story before pressing a kiss to his forehead and whispering a soft 'I love you' before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited for the next 6 chapters, they'll deal with Tony attending day care and a schoolyard crush. Hopefully I can have the next update up on Thursday, but I've been sick these last few days and writing's been a pain. I finally feel better, but I can't fucking breath at times because my nose is so stuffy.


	15. Please Read !!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> INFO, PLEASE READ

Hi my little darlings!!

Sorry you got excited thinking this was an update, but I just needed to inform you that there will be no update this week, possibly. I told you how I was sick last week, well I was sick for nearly two weeks and I didn't write anything besides come up with six new chapters. Well I finally started feeling better Saturday, (I could finally breath!) but unfortunately my mom fell ill and Sunday evening we had to call an ambulance because she was so sick.

It's been rough because she's my best friend and I spend so much time with her that now that she's not here it's been difficult and I really miss her. And she was so excited to go see Captain Marvel on Friday (I made her a big Marvel fan, lmao), but life happens, you know? She's slightly better today, was even laughing and talking for awhile when yesterday she couldn't really recognize us.

I'm taking time off from work this week and I'm really not in the mood to be writing for long periods of time (I have written, like a paragraph in the past twelve hours) so I really don't think you guys will be getting an update this week with everything going on. Hopefully, if things start looking up by Wednesday, maybe I'll have something up. Something short and lighthearted because I really need some fluffy things at the moment.

I don't like talking about my private life very much, but I just thought you all deserved to know what's happening right now since you've all been so supportive of this story and are patient when I'm trying to get my shit together.

So just a few days and then I promise I'll spoil you guys with updates and any prompts you guys would like for me to write. If I can and things have gotten better, I'll give you an update (or two) by Thursday or Friday.

I love you guys and hope to see you soon with a new update !!

xx Mel.


	16. New Kid On The Block

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And where are we gonna find kids his age for play dates?" Bucky questioned the team, leaning back against the sofa as he waited for a reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the start of Tony's Crush Story Arc : 1 of 7

"I think Tony should be around other kids his age," Bruce commented one night after Tony had long gone to sleep and the scientist, Bucky, Steve, Clint and Nat all sat around in the living room of the two super soldiers floor. "I mean," Bruce put down his cup of tea to look at the others who were staring at him with confused expressions. "I know he isn't technically a kid and that he'll one day, hopefully, be our Tony again, but for the meantime, we've got a four year old who only interacts with a bunch of adults and a teenager on a daily basis. From the start we agreed to give him the best second childhood we could, so maybe we should think about letting Tony have friends his age."

"Bruce is right," Steve spoke up after a few seconds of silence that had followed Bruce's suggestion. "He's four and it'll do him some good to interact with a group more according to his age."

"And where are we gonna find kids his age for play dates?" Bucky questioned the team, leaning back against the sofa as he waited for a reply.

"The tower has a daycare on the third floor for the employees kids, maybe we can send him down three or four days a week for a few hours," Natasha suggested with a shrug. "I know Tony himself did an extensive background check on the daycare teachers and he interviewed them personally and has dropped by for visits, so it's completely safe. I can still check it out first if it'd make you all more comfortable."

"We'd need to talk to Pepper first and get those fake documents with Tony's new ID and such, but the Hobbit's gonna have loads of fun there," Clint tells them with a grin, having been down to the daycare center a few times himself.

Bucky wasn't sure about sending the kid down there. He's the one, besides Loki and Steve, who spent the most time with the kid and they even had a routine of sorts by now after a month of having kid Tony. He wasn't sure how to feel about being away from the kid for a few hours a day, but he knew it was for the best. Tony needed to interact with kids his age and not just the crazy adults in his life.

"Alright, then we'll talk to Tony in the morning and inform the rest of the team as well," Natasha says as she stands up from the couch and begins to walk towards the elevator to get to work on making sure that the daycare was safe for their little one.

*

"But why do I gotta go?" Tony asks as he sits on his bed, Bucky kneeling in front of him and tying his shoes for his first day at daycare just three days after they first discussed the idea. Tony hadn't been too happy when they told him, still wasn't in fact, and frankly Bucky didn't blame him. He didn't want to let the kid go and wonder if he was alright or safe. It made Bucky's skin crawl at the idea of someone easily going in to hurt the boy.

"So you can have friends your age, kid," Bucky grumbled as he looked up at Tony who was pouting. "Look, it'll just be for a couple of hours, kid. You'll get to play with other little boys and girls your age and learn new things. Doesn't that sound excitin'?"

"I guess so, but I don't wanna be away from you." Tony's pout only got bigger, if possible and Bucky's face softened.

"I know, but it'll be good for ya, I promise. Besides, it'll only be until lunchtime and then Loki and I can go pick ya up and go out for lunch. Anywhere you want."

Tony perked up at that and nodded excitedly. He loved going out with Bucky and Loki, even more if he got to choose where they ate.

Bucky takes Tony down to the communal floor once the four year old is dressed and his Spider-Man backpack is stuffed with Mister Snuggles and his favorite blanket. Bucky had wanted to stuff his backpack with an extra set of clothes just in case and a StarkPhone so Tony could contact them in case he needed to leave, but Steve had simply laughed and shook his head. Natasha told him that Tony would be safe and that in case Tony needed extra clothes for whatever reason, the teacher could just call them.

"Are you ready for your first day?" Steve asks Tony as he packs some snacks for the kid in his Avengers lunchbox.

The whole team, including Pepper and Rhodey, are sitting around the table eating breakfast and ready to send Tony off on his first day. Thor had returned from visiting Jane, Sam from being with his family and Wanda and Vision from traveling across Europe as soon as they'd been told about the plans.

"Not really," Tony answers honestly as he goes over to sit on Bruce's lap, the scientist feeding him and making sure he didn't spill anything. Yesterday Tony had used up three shirts before lunchtime from the mess he'd made.

"Alright Anthony, it is time to go," Loki announced a few minutes later as he stood up from the table and left his empty tea cup in the sink before walking over to the four year old who pouted sadly again.

"Boo. Bye everyone," Tony told the team as he got off of Bruce's lap with Loki's help and gave everyone goodbye hugs, Steve holding onto the child a little longer and wishing him a good day.

"Be good," Pepper tells Tony with a soft smile and drops a kiss to his forehead.

"Don't scare off the other kids, little man," Rhodey teases Tony who sticks his tongue out at the man before walking off towards Bucky and Loki who were waiting for him by the elevator.

The ride down to the third floor is quiet, just Tony standing between his Bucky and his Lolo who were talking about something that Tony didn't understand. Eventually the doors opened and the three of them stepped out with Tony holding Bucky's and Loki's hands. They were greeted by a kind older lady at the front desk who smiled at the three of them.

"Good morning," she greets them warmly. "Who do we have here?"

"Introduce yourself, kid," Bucky encouraged the child with a soft smile as he ran a hand through Tony's messy hair.

"I'm Anthony Barnes and I'm four," Tony told her, holding up four fingers and smiling wide.

"My, what a big boy you are! Are you ready for your first day? I promise that you'll have a lot of fun and you'll make friends easily. Now, why don't you and your dads go right in."

Bucky and Loki both bit their tongues at the mention of them being Tony's dads and the child giggled. They couldn't tell her that they weren't even together since in Tony's new papers he was Bucky's and Loki's son.

The three headed inside the brightly colored room where kids from ages three to four were. The kids ages one to two were in a different room and the babies in another. There were two other parents talking to one of the teachers, but another one approached them with a bright smile and her blonde hair up in a bun. She was wearing a bright yellow apron with a name tag pinned to it with the name Karen Simmons printed on it.

"Morning! You must be Anthony's dads! I'm Karen, one of the teachers here," she greets them in a warm and friendly tone that made Tony relax between Bucky and Loki.

"Yeah, morning. I'm James and this is my uh husband, Loki," Bucky tells her and Loki's jaw tightens as he struggles to smile without it looking like he wants to murder her. Bucky briefly wonders if it would have been better to just be a single father.

"A pleasure to meet you," Loki greets back though Bucky can see that it most definitely is not a pleasure.

"Good morning Anthony, are you ready for your first day?" Karen asked as she crouched down in front of the child, smile still on her face and her green eyes displaying the genuine happiness she was displaying.

"I don't know," Tony told her honestly, eyes looking around the room nervously and all the other kids sitting at tables or running around.

"Oh, no worries! You'll have lots of fun here, sweetie! And you'll make plenty of friends, I'm sure of it."

Tony didn't exactly seemed convinced, but he turned to say goodbye to Bucky and Loki.

"Alright, kid, we'll come pick ya up in a few hours," Bucky says as he gets down on one knee and pulls the child into a hug. "Be good and if ya need anythin', tell one of your teachers and they'll contact us, okay?"

"Okay," Tony mumbles into Bucky's shoulder before pulling back to kiss the man's cheek. "Bye Papa."

Loki picked up Tony and smiled softly as the child kissed his cheek as well.

"I'll miss you, mama."

"I will miss you as well, Anthony. Behave," Loki warns the child who nods and soon he's standing beside Karen and watching the two of them leave.

*

"How'd it go?" Steve asked the pair when they return to the communal floor where the blonde super soldier, Sam and Natasha were all sitting and probably waiting to hear how it went.

"Oh, he was terrified and I want to go down there and bring him back, but I know that Lokes won't let me and this is for the kid's good," Bucky tells them with a shrug as he goes over to sit on the loveseat with the mage following and sitting beside him.

"I am sure that Anthony will be alright, James. Stop being such an over protective mother," Loki scolds the soldier playfully and the other three snicker while Bucky simply glares down at his friend who rolls his eyes.

Meanwhile back in the daycare, Tony was sitting alone in a small table meant for four kids, his backpack hung in his designated shelf. The four year old was looking around the room with wide eyes and nervously fiddling with his fingers. In the center of the table there was a stack of blank sheets of paper and a tray filled with crayons, markers and colored pencils. Miss Simmons had told him he could draw until the rest of the kids showed up, but he didn't really feel like doing so when he felt so anxious about being away from his family and being surrounded by strangers.

"Hi Miss Simmons!" An overly excited boy around Tony's age, but slightly taller and with light brown hair ran into the room with a Hulk backpack and a giant smile on his face as he ran up to the blonde teacher who smiled back.

"Morning, Teddy. Did you have a nice weekend?"

Tony tuned out the pair, opting to look around the classroom instead and taking in all the colorful posters and drawings made by the kids that hung on a special area of the wall beside the windows.

"Hi, can I sit here?" A kid asked Tony, startling the small genius out of his staring at the pictures.

Tony looked over to find the Teddy kid standing in front of Tony with a shy smile on his face, making small dimples appear on his cheeks. Tony only nodded in response and the kid sat next to him, grabbing a sheet of paper and a green marker from the center of the table.

"I'm Theodore, but everyone calls me Teddy," the boy sitting next to Tony introduces himself with a bright smile as he uncaps the green marker. "I'm four and a half and I like the color green and Hulk is my favorite Avenger."

"I'm Tony and I'm four," Tony tells Teddy, unsure of when his birthday even was. "The Winter Soldier and Loki are my favorite Avengers, but that's 'cause they're my daddies."

Teddy gasped excitedly, his eyes wide open and marker long forgotten as he leans forward on the table to get closer to Tony. Tony looked down at the table with a blush spreading over his cheeks, but before either boy could say anything, one of the other teachers called for everyone's attention.

Tony didn't know what to expect of this daycare thing, but he had a fun first day. And he did make a friend. Teddy was really nice to him and funny and he really liked him. Not a lot of the other kids had paid much attention to Tony, but that was okay because Teddy and him sat in their own little corner and played together until Bucky and Loki showed up around noon to take Tony.

"Did you have fun, kid?" Bucky asked as he carried Tony towards the elevator, Loki holding the child's backpack.

"I did! I made a friend and his name is Teddy and we colored and played and he's really really nice!" Tony told them excitedly, eyes shining with happiness and waving his arms around.

"Oh yeah? And is this Teddy kid old enough to write his own name?"

"James, please," Loki chided with a soft chuckle, shaking his head. "You are being an overprotective mother again."

"What? I only want the best for the kiddo."

Tony giggled at their bantering and laid his head on Bucky's shoulder, yawning tiredly in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mom's finally home, after spending a whole week at the hospital. It was a very rough week, but thank you all so much for your kind words and for being so understanding. I got back into writing this weekend and I've written two whole new chapters so expect another update on Thursday !!
> 
> Also, in case anyone missed the top notes, this is a mini story so this is Chapter 1 of 7 :)


	17. Schoolyard Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Lots of fun! Teddy's really funny," Tony told them, cheeks turning a soft shade of red that no one missed and Natasha simply raised an eyebrow in amusement while Clint and Sam shared smirks with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 of 7

"How was your day today?" Steve asked as he guided the child towards the elevator a week after Tony's first day at daycare.

"It was fun" Tony told him as he began to jump in place and told him about all the fun things he did at the daycare with Teddy.

Steve only smiled at the child in amusement as Tony went on and on about his day, which involved an awful lot of activities with Teddy. Tony talked until they reached the communal floor where Bucky, Natasha, Clint and Sam were sitting in the living room watching a show. They all looked up when Tony and Steve arrived, greeting the child with smiles.

"Missed ya," Bucky says as he pulls Tony to sit up on his lap and holds him tightly. Bucky still wasn't used to not having the kid around all morning and missed him a lot, but now he had time to train with the team again and go on runs with Steve and Sam in the mornings or just go out into the city, often times with Loki which had earned him a lot of knowing and teasing looks from Steve.

"Missed you more," Tony tells him in between giggles as he cuddles into Bucky.

"So, have fun today, Hobbit?" Clint asked the child who only rolled his eyes at the nickname but no longer complained about it.

"Lots of fun! Teddy's really funny," Tony told them, cheeks turning a soft shade of red that no one missed and Natasha simply raised an eyebrow in amusement while Clint and Sam shared smirks with each other.

"Sounds like somebody's got a crush on Teddy," Sam teased the child who only turned more red and hid his face in Bucky's chest. Bucky meanwhile growled at his friends as he held the child tightly.

"Oh, come on, Buck! It's pretty adorable that he's got a crush on someone, stop being such an overprotective mother," Steve teased his best friend who didn't look very happy with the idea of the four year old having a crush on this Teddy kid.

"He's just a kid, I'm not all that excited about this," Bucky tells them with a shrug, rubbing the embarrassed child's back and pressing a kiss to the top of his head before standing up with Tony in his arms. "Come on kid, let's go find Lolo."

"I like Lolo better, he doesn't tease me," Tony says loud enough for the rest of the team to hear.

"Aww, sorry Tones," Steve apologizes to the child who sticks his tongue out at the blonde super soldier as Bucky takes him to the elevator.

They find Loki in his floor with Thor talking, well more like Thor's talking and Loki's not even pretending to listen. The black haired man is sitting in his favorite chair with a book on his lap and his usual murderous expression on his face. Tony lights up when he sees Loki and wiggles around until Bucky sets him down before running towards the man.

"Hi Lolo!" Tony greets him, squealing when Thor manages to snatch him as the kid runs past the god of thunder. "Thor!"

"Hello, young one! I have greatly missed you!" Thor told Tony as he hugged the child who was laughing and squirming in the god's arms. Bucky meanwhile went over to sit on the couch next to Loki's seat.

"I've missed you too! Do I get a present?" Tony asked Thor in his 'I'm sweet and innocent and very adorable' voice that he used to get what he wanted.

"Anthony," Loki scolded the child who huffed and pouted. It wasn't Tony's fault, Thor had been spoiling Tony an awful lot by bringing him gifts every time he went off to visit Jane or Asgard.

"Aye, of course I did, young one! It is in my chambers so I will give it to you later."

"Okay! Thank you, Thor!"

Thor laughed and set the four year old down, watching as he ran up to his brother who had no choice but to set his book aside and pick up the overexcited child. And just like earlier, Tony went on and on about all the fun things he did with Teddy today, completely oblivious to Bucky's scowling face.

*

"Tony! Hi!" Teddy shouted as he ran up to the tiny genius who'd just barely stepped in through the front door of the daycare with Natasha and Clint who had twin amused looks as they watched the two children embrace tightly as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks.

"Hi Teddy! Look, my Auntie Nat and Clinton brought me today," Tony informed his best friend excitedly as he looked over at Natasha and Clint who glared playfully at Tony at the use of his full name.

"Hi, I'm Teddy," the light brown haired child greeted the twin spies shyly as he stood next to Tony.

"It's nice to meet you, Teddy. We're really glad that your Tony's friend," Natasha greeted the child gently, careful to not scare him off knowing she could come off as intimidating to others.

"Alright, Hobbit, time to say goodbye. Someone will come pick you up later," Clint informed Tony.

"You promise?" Tony asked him with narrowed eyes and his hands on his hips. On Tony's third day at the daycare, Bucky, Steve and Natasha had been held up at SHIELD while Bruce was out of the city and who knew where the rest were so no one had been able to pick up Tony until Karen Simmons had called Pepper after Tony told her about the CEO being his auntie as well. Tony had been pretty upset that day, refusing to speak to them until bedtime.

"I promise. Now go have fun and don't play too much pranks." Clint ruffled Tony's hair until Natasha slapped his hand away and the two boys giggled at the squeak the archer made.

 _"Be good, little one,"_ Natasha says in Russian as she kneels in front of Tony and fixes the jacket he's wearing and then smooths his hair down.

 _"I will!"_ Tony replies back in nearly fluent Russian. Bucky and Natasha had been starting to teach him and they were only slightly surprised at how fast Tony was picking up on it.

Once the two leave, Teddy grabs Tony by the hand and takes him over to their table, the two already giggling over nothing.

After Tony's first full week at daycare and letting him get used to it, the team had agreed (Bucky reluctantly until Loki's glare made him) to let the child spend more time at the daycare during the day since Teddy wasn't picked up from the place until sometime after three in the afternoon. Tony had been okay with that because it meant spending more time with Teddy since the tiny genius still only attended the daycare three days a week unless the others had to go into SHIELD.

"My birthday party is this Saturday, you're going, right?" Teddy asked Tony as the two sat at their table working on a new arts and craft project Miss Karen had told them to work on. It involved glitter and paint and even though all the kids were wearing art smocks, Tony had still somehow managed to get his shirt dirty with paint.

"Of course, silly! I already got your birthday present and Stevie said he'd take me," Tony informs Teddy who beams happily at his friend. Tony was really excited to be going to a birthday party, especially his best friend's birthday party.

"It's gonna be so much fun!"

*

"Alright, kids! Now that we're all clean, it's lunchtime," Karen announced and the kids cheered as they rushed over to their shelves to grab their lunchboxes.

"So what'd you bring?" Teddy asks as the two sit at their table and open up their lunchboxes.

"Stevie made me a turkey and cheese sandwich and I have an apple juice, animal crackers and apple slices," Tony tells Teddy as he pulls out everything and then looks at his friend who's pulling his lunch out as well.

"My mommy made me mac and cheese, with an orange juice, Oreos and grapes!" Teddy exclaims excitedly as he looks over at Tony. "Want half and half?"

Tony nodded and gave half of his sandwich to Teddy who in return gave him half of his mac and cheese and they would just share their cookies and fruits. It'd become routine for them to just ask what they had and then share their food. Sometimes they even shared their snacks during snack time, which for Tony always consisted of Goldfish crackers when Steve or Bruce weren't in charge because if they were, Tony always brought baby carrots, much to his and Teddy's displeasure. When it came to Tony's lunch, Thor was Tony's favorite because he packed lots of Pop-Tarts, cookies and even candy. But then Loki had found out and had scolded Thor for doing so because he couldn't give Tony that much sugar.

After lunchtime, comes reading time and then nap time. Nap time is Tony's favorite part of the day, especially cause he sleeps next to Teddy and he has Mister Snuggles and his favorite blanket. Overall, Tony loves daycare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't update yesterday cause my mom and I finally saw Captain Marvel. We both loved the movie, I actually really wanna go see it again. And also that new Endgame trailer has us more hyped for the movie.
> 
> Also, thank you all so much for 10k hits !! It's been a struggle some days, but thank you all so much for supporting this fic and giving me that extra boost to keep writing :)


	18. Play Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Teddy says he has a baby sister, can I have a baby brother or sister?" Tony asks them and Loki and Bucky exchange awkward glances, their faces slowly turning red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 of 7

When Tony and Teddy walk out of the daycare room together, they find Steve and Teddy's mom talking happily in the waiting area. Teddy's parents and whoever's in charge of picking up Tony (not Loki, he always looks like he's seconds away from stabbing everyone) are always held up in a conversation, exchanging parenting tips and whatnot. And Teddy and Tony are forced to wait until the conversation is over, which isn't all that bad for them because that means extra time together.

"So Saturday sounds good?" Steve asks Teddy's mom who nods as she takes Teddy's hand and Steve picks up Tony who'd started to complain about being tired.

"It sounds perfect! I'm sure the boys will be thrilled with the idea of a play date. The two had so much fun at Teddy's birthday party last week," Teddy's mom tells Steve who chuckles as he shifts Tony on his hip. He might be a super soldier, but the kid isn't exactly light, especially not after all the junk food the team gives him.

"What's on Saturday, mommy?" Teddy asks his mother as he looks up at her.

"How would you and Tony like to have a play date on Saturday?" She asks her son who looks over at Tony, both kids gasping excitedly before shouting yes and please which makes both adults chuckle.

"Alright kids, you're happy, we get it," Steve teases them. "So on Saturday you'll drop Teddy off at the lobby at noon, either Bucky or I will be waiting for him down there."

"Yes and I'll pick him up shortly before dinner, we have this thing with my husband's parents and they haven't seen Teddy in awhile, otherwise I'd let him stay longer."

"Sounds good, Maggie. We'll see you Saturday then."

Maggie and Teddy got on the elevator and left before Steve got on the private one the team used and had FRIDAY take them up to the communal floor.

"How was day care?" Steve asked the child in his arms, sighing when Tony refused to be put down on the floor.

"It was fun, but I'm tired. I couldn't sleep during nap time so Miss Karen had me read a book," Tony tells the blonde, yawning and setting his head on Steve's shoulder as his eyes slipped shut.

"I suppose you could take a nap now, but then it would throw off your schedule for the rest of the day, not to mention your bedtime could be affected and Bucky and Bruce could murder me for it-" Steve went on and on until the doors opened and he stepped onto the communal floor, unaware that Tony hadn't replied to a single word he'd said.

"Rogers, why is the kid asleep?" Bucky asked as he walked over to greet them, hair wet from a shower after a sparring session with Natasha after lunch.

"What?" Steve asked before he looked down to see that Tony was indeed, fast asleep and a thin trail of drool was escaping from the corner of his mouth and landing on his shirt. "He said he didn't take a nap today." Steve shrugged, letting Bucky take the four year old away from him.

"Mm, hi papa," Tony mumbled sleepily, eyes blinking open a few times and Bucky ignored the slip in name in favor of getting Tony's backpack of his back and tossing it on the armchair closest to him. "Sleepy."

"Shh, I know, kid. You can sleep for a little bit, yeah?" Bucky reassured the child who nodded and was fast asleep again a second after. "You'll be in charge of bedtime if he starts screamin' about not being tired."

"Fair," Steve says with a shrug as he walks past Bucky who's putting Tony down on the couch knowing the kid won't sleep for long once Clint and Sam get back from their day out. "So Teddy's coming over for a play date on Saturday. I talked to his mom while waiting for the kids to come out and we made plans. Thought it'd be good for Tony to see his friend outside of the day care."

"Alright," Bucky says with a sigh. "Peter's staying this weekend, he can help out with keeping the two brats entertained."

When Saturday arrives, Tony's a bouncing mess all morning as he talks about all the things he wants to do with Teddy. Clint and Peter tease the four year old about his obvious crush on Teddy, but Tony ignores them in favor of telling Rhodey all about Teddy.

"Tony, guess who's here!" Clint shouts from the living room and Tony quickly runs out from the kitchen where he'd been helping Wanda decorate some cupcakes.

"Teddy!" Tony yells excitedly as he sees his best friend exit the elevator with Steve.

"Hi," Teddy says a little shyly as he steps forward and hands the tiny genius a yellow rose, making Tony blush and thank Teddy quietly.

"They are not getting married, James, lose the look," Loki hisses at Bucky who huffed and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Aww, cheer up, pops," Peter teases Bucky who glares at the teenager who bursts into giggles alongside Clint.

"Lets go play!" Tony grabs Teddy's hand and drags him down the hall towards his play room, ignoring his family along the way as he holds the rose delicately to his chest with his free hand.

"I remember my first crush," Peter says as he gets up from his seat, ready to go after the kids to supervise them.

"When was that? Yesterday?" Clint teases the teenager who sticks his tongue out at the archer before heading off down the hall and seconds later there's screeching coming from the play room followed by Peter laughing his evil laugh. Supposed evil laugh.

"Peter, will you play with us?" Tony asked the teenager, pouting up at him and Teddy giggled beside his friend.

"Gee, I don't know, Tones. What's the magic word?" Peter asked him with a smirk.

"Please!"

"What are we playing then?"

"Hmm, hold on!" Tony told Peter before turning to Teddy and whispering in his ear, but thanks to his enhanced hearing, Peter heard everything. Peter let them have their fun though and watched as Teddy whispered against Tony's ear before the genius child nodded and turned to face the teenager. "We're Spider Man and the Hulk and you're a bad guy!"

"Alright." Peter shrugged. "Surrender you tiny Avengers! You are no much for me! Mwuahaha!"

"Never!" Teddy shouts as Tony jumps on Peter who falls to the ground dramatically and Teddy joins in as well.

*

"So Peter's your big brother?" Teddy asked Tony later as the two sat at the kitchen table eating a snack while Wanda supervised the two, busying herself with going over a new recipe she wanted to try for dinner that evening and making sure she had all the ingredients.

"Yep! And he's the best big brother ever," Tony gushes as he dips his baby carrot into the peanut butter. The team had managed to find a way for Tony to eat more vegetables and that was by giving him the ones he could dip peanut butter in. "Do you have a big brother?"

"No, but I've gots a little sister. She cries a lot, but she's cute." Teddy shrugged. "And I can't play with her yet 'cause she's only a baby and mommy says I've gotta wait until she's bigger, but she said I get to teached her how to say my name and walk!"

Tony was thoughtful for a minute. He loves Peter because Peter's older than him and plays with him and carries him when Tony doesn't feel like walking, but he's also a little jealous of Teddy because he's a big brother and he gets to do all the things Peter does to someone else.

"Wanna play pirates?!" Teddy suddenly asks and Tony nods excitedly, forgetting all about his dilemma as he runs after his best friend who ran back down the hall to the playroom, leaving behind an amused Wanda.

Later that night, both Loki and Bucky are tucking Tony in bed when Tony remembers his conversation with Teddy earlier.

"Somethin' wrong, kid?" Bucky asks as he sits beside Tony, noticing the child's sudden quietness and Loki sits down on the bed as well.

"Teddy says he has a baby sister, can I have a baby brother or sister?" Tony asks them and Loki and Bucky exchange awkward glances, their faces slowly turning red.

"Um, it's not that simple, kiddo," Bucky begins to say and Tony only looks confused at the answer as he looks at them. "First of all, Loki and I aren't uh together like Teddy's parents."

"Well why not? You like each other, right?"

"It is not the same, child. Theodore's parents like each other in a different way," Loki tries to explain to Tony who only looks more confused. For a kid genius, certain topics were just hard to grasp and unfortunately for the two, this was one of them. "And we are not actually your parents."

"Well, where are my parents?" Tony asks quietly, making both Bucky and Loki freeze up at the question. Tony hadn't asked any questions about his past in the nearly two months he's been a kid and while they know that he's remembering things via dreams, it must all be so confusing for him to understand. "How come you're not my parents if you're always taking care of me like Teddy's parents take care of him?"

"Oh Tony," Bucky mumbles under his breath as he pulls the kid into his side and holds him tight, sharing a look with Loki. "Well, you remember how we talked about the different kinds of parents, right?"

"Yeah. Some kids have two mommies, or daddies, or a mom and a dad, or maybe just one or even step parents," Tony explains and Loki smiles softly at the child.

"Well there's also adoptive parents and Loki and I are kind of like that. Meanin' you're not our kid biologically, but we love you like our kid, makes sense?" Toy nods but he still looks like he's got questions. "And two parents don't necessarily have to be together to be parents. Get it better now?"

"Yeah, but why can't I have a baby brother or sister? You're like my parents."

"Anthony, darling, it is not like we can go out to the store and acquire an infant," Loki tells Tony with a soft chuckle. "Besides, infants are a lot of work and I do not think you would like to be changing smelly diapers or getting peed on, would you?"

"Eww, no." Tony giggles and Bucky looks more relieved now that Loki's taken over the situation.

"Exactly, it is not pleasant, I would now. I had infants of my own at some point."

"And, if there were a baby around, everyone would end up spendin' more time with the baby because unlike you, a baby would not be able to talk or walk or do anythin' on their own," Bucky adds and he has to bite back a chuckle when Tony scowls and wraps his arms around him tightly in a possessive manner. "I know how much you don't like sharing us."

"No way! I don't want a baby no more," Tony declares and the two adults laugh.

"Fair enough, now, it is time for bed. I believe 'tis too late for young ones to be awake still," Loki announces as he stands up and Bucky follows as well, tucking Tony back in bed. "Sleep well, Anthony."

"Night, mama. Night, papa," Tony says in between yawns and holds Mister Snuggles tight to his chest as his eyes quickly shut, no longer able to stay awake to see his caretakers go.

"Well that was-"

"Awkward?" Loki finishes for Bucky as the two walk down the hall and stop in the living room.

"Yeah. So uh any plans for tonight?" Bucky asks the mage awkwardly, rubbing at his metal arm with his real one and avoids staring at his friend for too long.

"None at all, do you have any?"

"No. So you want to watch a movie with me? Steve's staying with Sharon and- Okay I don't mean anything has to happen you know! Just 'cause he's always teasin' and such."

"I can stay," Loki tells him with a smirk, gazing at Bucky fondly and masking his nervousness.

"Great! I'll get some snacks then."

Bucky heads off towards the kitchen and Loki goes over to sit on the beige colored loveseat as he turns on the television and waits for the super soldier to return, ignoring the "butterflies" in his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I watched Christopher Robin this weekend and I swear I've never cried so early into a movie?? Like, why would they rip my heart into tiny bits right from the start?? Why is Disney so cruel?? Lovely movie though, I've always loved Winnie the Pooh.
> 
> Also more mentions of Loki/Bucky because I was pleasantly surprised to know many of you were on board with this ship


	19. Your What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He's your what? And you're going to do what?" Bucky asks with wide eyes and the two kids giggle at his reaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4 of 7

The following Monday, Bucky was waiting for Tony outside of the daycare leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and thinking about his Saturday night with Loki. The two had watched movie after movie until the prince had fallen asleep with his head on Bucky's shoulder and Bucky couldn't help but to wrap an arm around him and hold him a little tighter. He's not sure when he started liking Loki as more than a friend, supposes it's always kinda been there from the day they met. He remembers seeing him for the first time just three days after moving into the tower and thinking that he was beautiful and intriguing. Bucky hadn't thought weirdly about anyone else, has in fact admitted that Tony Stark was a truly handsome man when they first met (the man could flirt and Bucky had once upon a time been able to flirt right back with him, but after this, he was sure he'd never see Tony like that again) and knew that Natasha was beautiful (though he'd never say it out loud since she's plenty scary, thank you very much), but with Loki it'd been different and he hadn't realized it. So Saturday night had been great and he wanted a repeat of it, but hopefully with more cuddling and maybe something more. Oh and he wanted it to happen more often.

"Papa!" Tony shouts as he runs out of the room with his arms wide open and Bucky grins as he scoops up the child and holds him close, still not used to not seeing the kid all day.

"Hey kid, how was your day?" Bucky asks him as he holds Tony up with his metal arm, seeing Teddy walk over to them through the corner of his eye.

"It was great, but guess what?!"

"What?"

"Teddy and I are boyfriends and he said we were gonna get married when we're big like you and mama!"

"He's your what? And you're going to do what?" Bucky asks with wide eyes and the two kids giggle at his reaction.

**Earlier That Day...**

"Hey, Tony?" Teddy called a little nervously and Tony looked up from the drawing of his family he was making (he wasn't sure he had enough room for everyone, but Miss Karen said he could use more paper if he needed).

"Yes?" Tony asks Teddy who's a little red in the face and shifting nervously in his seat.

"Wanna be my boyfriend?"

Tony froze for a second as he stared at Teddy before answering with an excited yes and hugging the other four year old tightly. Teddy giggles and places a timid kiss on his boyfriend's cheek in return and Tony blushes bright red at the gesture.

For the rest of the day, Teddy and Tony held hands and giggled shyly at each other.

"Let's get married when we're bigger," Teddy informs his boyfriend who's taking a bite of his sandwich during lunchtime.

"Okay!" Tony agrees excitedly, smiling over at Teddy who giggles. "It's gotta be a big wedding! With chocolate cake and lots of pretty flowers!"

"Yeah! A big cake, though. Very big."

For the rest of their lunch break, they kept making plans for their future wedding. Tony eventually drew a picture of him and Teddy wearing suits and holding hands. He'd shown Miss Karen who giggled and congratulated the two on their future wedding, making them promise that they'd invite her to the party.

**Present...**

"You're my little boy and I say you can't get married until you're forty," Bucky informs the child as they ride up the private elevator to the communal floor and Tony giggled, holding Bucky's hand.

"What's wrong with you?" Clint asked Bucky once the doors opened and Tony ran past them, ready to show the rest of the team his drawings.

"Tony got a boyfriend and got engaged all in one day," Bucky informed the archer who burst out laughing.

"Damn, the kids just met and they've already beat you and Loki."

"James, what is this I hear about the child getting married?" Loki asks as he walks over to the pair with a slight frown on his face. "Is it common for Midgardians to elope so early?"

"Oh Merlin, it's just a game. Nothing to worry about," Clint reassured the mage who scowled at the nickname. He only ever let Tony use weird nicknames on him. "Not sure the old man over here is seeing it like a game though, but that's what it is. Innocent little kiddies. So cute." Clint walked away laughing and leaving Loki and Bucky alone.

"Do not look so upset, James," Loki told the soldier with a smirk as he walked up to the man's personal space. "I am sure you will still find someone and get married before Anthony does."

"Well I found someone, they're just playin' hard to get," Bucky replies and walks away, leaving behind a somewhat shocked Loki.

"Heard you've got a son in law now. Congrats, Buck," Steve teases his best friend once he walks into the kitchen where Tony's sitting on the counter eating a cookie while talking with Nat in Russian. "How are you handling this?"

"Now I get why the dads are always so overprotective in TV shows and come out with rifles an' shit. He ain't really my kid, but I would do anythin' to keep him safe and if someone ever hurts him, well the Winter Soldier will be their biggest nightmare."

"I will make sure to always keep him happy, Jesus you're scary."

"Say, speakin' of happy, weren't you 'bout to ask him out before this whole shit happened?" Bucky questioned his best friend with a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms across his chest and watched as Steve's face turned a very interesting shade of red.

"Uh I uh don't know who told you that, but uh-"

"And I know you're now datin' Sharon. She's real nice and pretty, but we all know you don't like her like you've liked Tony since the start. Just, when Tony returns to normal, don't hurt him. You may be my best friend, my brother, but ya hurt him and your face will meet my fist. We clear?"

"Uh p-perfectly clear," Steve stuttered out with wide eyes. "But maybe you should take your own advice and use it. Don't wait too long, you never know what could happen tomorrow."

"James, stop frightening everyone and get your child to stop eating so much cookies. He will ruin his appetite for dinner," Loki says as he walks past the two friends.

"Oh, so he's only mine when he won't listen to you?" Bucky argued as he followed Loki. "You know he takes after you, right?"

"And he is stubborn like you."

"Oh, lover's spat," Sam teases as he steals a cookie from Tony's plate before walking out of the kitchen.

"Hey, kid, stop with the cookies," Bucky tells the child who sticks his tongue out at him and Steve and Natasha snicker.

"Tasha made them for me," Tony tells Bucky who sets the plate on the other side of the island, far from Tony's reach.

"Yes, but if you keep eating so much cookies you won't want dinner. Those were meant for after dinner."

"So Tony, are you going to invite us to your wedding with Teddy?" Natasha questions the boy with an amused glint in her eyes as she leans back against the counter across from Tony with her arms crossed across her chest and Bucky huffs angrily.

"Duh! It's gonna be a big wedding with a very big cake!" Tony tells them excitedly.

"Hey, what did I say earlier?" Bucky asks the child who shrugs innocently. "You can't get married until you're forty."

"Technically-"

"Nope! We're not talkin' 'bout that. He's four and too young to be thinkin' about marriage and all that."

Loki simply rolls his eyes as the child goes on to explain how he wants his wedding. Bucky turns to look at Loki and winks at him, making the mage blush a bit.

"You and Barnes need to do something about your sexual tension," Natasha suddenly tells Loki as she stands next to him, lowering her voice so the child wouldn't hear her. Loki turns to look at her with wide eyes and Natasha smirks at him. "Pretty sure we could put you on different floors and we'd still feel the tension."

"I do not know what-" at her glare, Loki stops talking and sighs. "I have never had a proper relationship, guess I am just scared."

"Never?"

"No. Just because I have kids doesn't mean that I was in love once upon a time. They came about because of one night stands, you could say."

"He's crazy about you, maybe think about it. I've seen the way you two look at each other and how you interact. This could be a very good thing."

Loki thinks over her words as he looks over at Bucky who's staring at Tony with so much love in his gaze as he lets the child play with his metal fingers. It could be a good thing, he supposes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise update !! Though technically it is Thursday in other parts of the world, but I've been in a good mood all week so you might get a third update by Friday. Also mainly because I wrote two chapters yesterday and because baby boyfriends are so cute and more Loki/Bucky


	20. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bu' my date with Teddy."
> 
> To Tony's left, Peter choked on his drink and May cooed at Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 of 7
> 
> (my least favorite of the bunch. oops.)

It's Friday afternoon and Tony is sitting on the living room floor of May's house building a puzzle and waiting for Peter to get home from school. Tony had gotten picked up early from daycare and had been dropped off at May's while the rest of the team headed on a mission in California that shouldn't take all day, but just in case Pepper had dropped off an overnight bag with Tony's pjs, Mister Snuggles and other things he might need for the night.

"May, when's Peter coming home?" Tony asks in a whiny tone as he gets up from his spot on the floor and walks over to May who's sitting at the kitchen table checking her email on her laptop.

"Soon, jellybean," May tells him with a soft smile as she sits him on her lap. "Now, tell me about Teddy. Peter says he's your best friend from daycare?"

"He's my boyfriend," Tony tells her proudly and May's shocked for a few seconds before she starts laughing and cooing at the four year old on her lap. "And we're gonna get married when we're big like Bucky and Loki."

"Well, don't forget to invite me to the wedding, jellybean."

"I won't! It's gonna be very big."

Just then Peter and MJ walked in through the front door and Tony ran over to them.

"Hey, spider baby!" Peter greets the child as he picks him up. "Are you spending the night?"

"Dunno. Maybe." Tony shrugs, shrieking with laughter when MJ plucks him out of Peter's grip and smothers his cheeks with kisses. "MJ!"

"Hi, little loser. Been awhile. What's new?" MJ asked the child as the three headed over to greet May who smiled up at them.

"I've got a boyfriend now!" Tony informs her, making both teenagers freeze and exchange shocked looks before looking over at May who's trying not to laugh again.

"Um, I don't know if I approve?" Peter finally says, though it sounds like a question since he's so confused at the moment.

"So who's the lucky squirt?" MJ asks Tony as she sets him down.

"His name's Teddy and we're gonna get married."

"I definitely don't approve, then." MJ hits Peter's arm and he yelps in pain. "I mean, Teddy's a great kid and I definitely can't wait for the wedding."

Tony giggles and goes over to wrap his arms around Peter's legs.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get married when we're big."

"'Cause that makes me feel so much better," Peter mumbles under his breath as he ruffles Tony's hair.

They're having dinner later the evening when May's phone starts to ring and she tells the boys that it's Bucky. Tony starts bouncing excitedly in his seat as May talks to Bucky before passing the phone over to Tony.

"Hi Bucky! Are you coming home soon?" Tony asks his caretaker with a large smile on his face.

"Sorry, kid, but it looks like we're going to be stuck here until tomorrow," Bucky informed Tony who stopped bouncing in his seat and pouted as he stared at his nearly empty plate of food. "I'm gonna need ya to be good at May and Peter's, alright? Do as they say and I'll call again in the morning if I can."

"Bu' my date with Teddy."

To Tony's left, Peter choked on his drink and May cooed at Tony.

"Maybe if you ask nicely, Peter can take you. I'm sorry, kid, but I promise to make it up to you when we get back, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Bucky," Tony says quietly before he hands the phone back to May.

"Aww, it's okay, Spider Baby," Peter tells the sad four year old as he pulls him over onto his lap. "I can take you and Teddy out for ice cream and we'll have lots of fun together! You'll see. And don't worry, Bucky and the others will be back sooner than you think."

"I know, but I miss 'em," Tony mumbles sadly as he cuddles into Peter, refusing to finish his dinner.

Tony's clingy after that. He clings to May for a bit before she has to head off to work and cover for a friend and then Tony clings to Peter as the two lay down on the couch and watch TV in the living room. Tony falls asleep on Peter and refuses to let go for the remainder of the night.

The next day, Peter asks Ned and MJ to help him out with the two kids, but Ned can't because he's with his family and MJ arrives shortly after lunch ready to help chaperone Tony and Teddy's date. She looks more amused than anything as she brushes back Tony's curls and fixes his clothes.

"You're all ready for your date, mini loser," MJ declares and Tony giggles. "Let's get going before you're late."

Peter, just like Bucky, isn't too happy with the news of his "little brother" having a boyfriend. He doesn't say anything out loud though because MJ only hits him and he doesn't want to take Tony's happiness away from him. The four year old has been really excited for his date and after the night he had, Peter would rather not have sad clingy Tony again. Even though he very much enjoys cuddling with the four year old.

"Lets go!" Tony declares as he rushes over to the front door of the apartment.

Teddy doesn't live far from Peter's place, so they pick him up and then head to an ice cream shop nearby, Tony and Teddy both holding hands as they walk in front of MJ and Peter. MJ snickers and takes pictures of the kids and Peter's grumpy face before sending them to Ned who replies saying that he's sad to miss such a cute date and seeing Pete's miserable face in person.

"Alright losers, what do you want?" MJ asks the children once they're inside the small shop. The place is empty, seeing as it's nearly winter now and not many people come for ice cream during the cold weather.

"Hmm," Tony says as he stares through the glass at all the ice cream flavors, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"There's so many!" Teddy exclaims as he looks up at the teenagers with wide eyes. "I can't choose."

"I want strawberry," Tony eventually decides.

"And I want cookie dough ice cream, please," Teddy informs the teenagers who nod and place their orders before going off to sit at a table. Well, Teddy and Tony sit at a table by themselves and MJ and Peter sit at another right next to theirs.

"Can't believe a four year old managed to get a date before you, Parker," MJ teases her friend who blushes and glares at her.

"Whatever makes the kid happy," Peter tells her with a shrug as he looks over at Tony and Teddy who are giggling about something and sharing their ice cream. "He's been through a lot, Tony deserves every ounce of happiness he can get."

MJ doesn't say anything, but she too looks over at the kids and smiles. She's not aware of who Tony actually is, but she knows the kid's important to Peter. She's not even sure how the two are related, as far as she knows May is Peter's only living relative, but it's obvious Peter sees Tony as a little brother and it's quite adorable (though she won't admit it out loud) how Tony looks up to Peter.

"So how did this happen anyways?" MJ questions Peter as she looks away from the kids who seem to be in their own little world and looks over at Peter who's looking every bit like a protective big brother.

"At the daycare, they met the first day and became fast friends. They've gotten real close. Close enough to be boyfriends and get engaged all in the same day," Peter tells her with a shrug and she outright laughs at his expression. "Hey! It's not funny. How do you think I felt when I heard that my four year old little brother was engaged?"

"It's cute though and you gotta admit that it'd be pretty sweet if they managed to actually get married when they were older."

Peter doesn't say anything because technically, Tony will go back to his regular safe soon and this will be nothing more than a story to embarrass the man. Peter does hope though, a small part deep inside him (a selfish part), that Tony stays like this because he's so happy and carefree and he doesn't have to think about all the bad things he's gone through in his life. It'd be a fresh start for him.

After their ice cream date, they take Teddy back home and on the walk back to Peter's place, the teenager carries Tony who's fast asleep in his arms.

"Isn't sugar supposed to give kids more energy?" MJ comments with a small snicker as she sees the child's peaceful face.

"Tony's never been a normal kid," Peter informs her with a fond smile as he hikes Tony up a bit higher which makes the child tuck his face in Peter's neck. "But he's certainly the best."

Tony's still fast asleep when Bucky and Loki arrive an hour later and they smile fondly at Tony who's still got some dried chocolate syrup around the corners of his mouth. May, Bucky and Loki talk for a bit as Peter collects Tony's things which are scattered all over his room.

"How was the date?" Bucky asks the teenager once he returns.

"Pretty sure they made more wedding plans," Peter tells the super soldier who scowls at that and the teenager chuckles. "I think I heard them mention a beach wedding."

"Of course they did. Still don't know how to feel 'bout this."

"Tell me about it. I just found out yesterday and I can't wrap my head around it."

"What, jealous that a four year old has a better love life than you?" Bucky teases the teenager who blushes yet again and struggles to come up with a comeback.

"James, leave Peter alone and lets get the child home," Loki scolds Bucky who nods and grabs Tony's overnight bag.

"On it, boss," Bucky responds and Peter giggles.

"Whipped," Peter whispers to the super soldier who glares at him.

"The day you admit that you like MJ will be the day I ask Loki out and to marry me, until then keep living in a river of denial."

Peter gapes after the man who's laughing all the way back to the living room. He doesn't like MJ. Nope, not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing the end of the Teddy and Tony story arc (cries in spanish). I've already written the last two chapters and I'm starting on the next story arc which I promised I'd write like a few chapters back. It'll be about the team finding Tony de-aged in different ages. None of those five(? honestly might shorten it to 3) chapters will be related, they're just what ifs.
> 
> Also, I just want to say that you're all so wonderful? Like I'm not used to receiving compliments on my writing (I'm insecure about showing people my work) and I don't want to reply to all of your comments for fear of sounding like a robot with all the thank yous. Just know that I appreciate every single one of you xx


	21. Tony and Teddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do we?" Loki questions him playfully, leaning in a bit more and Bucky shifts Tony out of the way and gets ready to lean in and close the gap between them, but then the doors open and Loki's stepping off the elevator with a smirk on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to Domain_Dog who gave me a wonderful prompt about Bucky and Loki having dinner with Teddy's parents and Tony embarrassing them.
> 
> Also, I apologize ahead of time
> 
> 6 of 7

"I can not promise you anything," Loki mumbles as Bucky rings the doorbell to Teddy's house with Tony standing between them bouncing excitedly.

"At least don't stab anyone, doll," Bucky says as he looks over at Loki who glares at him and Tony giggles.

The front door opens and Maggie greets them with a large smile and Teddy peeking out from behind her legs, shy expression morphing into a joyous one when he sees Tony. The two kids immediately run off together, leaving Bucky and Loki to exchange greetings with Maggie and her husband. The two had invited the Barnes-Laufeyson family to their place for dinner and it had taken an awful lot of convincing to get Loki to agree.

"Would you guys like anything to drink? Water, soda-"

"Or beer," Maggie's husband, Daniel, interrupts her with a chuckle as he walks over to them and shakes Bucky and Loki's hand.

"Water is fine, thank you," Loki tells Maggie with a slight smile that looks a bit more like a grimace.

"Nothing for me, thanks."

Maggie goes off to grab a glass of water while Daniel leads the two Avengers to the living room where they sit on the couch. Once Maggie returns, the four talk about about their boys and life as an Avenger before they call the two kids for dinner. To keep up their fake relationship, Bucky pulls out Loki's chair for him and calls him more pet names than usual. Not that Loki minds, but he won't admit that out loud.

"So how did you two get together?" Maggie asks the couple and Tony looks up at his "parents" with his fork halfway to his mouth and staring at them wide eyed.

"The others actually helped us uh get together," Bucky tells her, silently thanking HYDRA for his training so the other couple don't even notice that he's actually pretty nervous on the inside. Loki's never really been one for expressing how he feels, so taking one look at his face and the mage is as normal as ever.

"Yes. They kept saying how everyone else could tell but us," Loki informs them and Maggie laughs and Daniel smiles at the pair.

"How long have you been together?" Daniel asks them as he grabs his glass of wine and takes a sip.

"'Bout a year, give or take," Bucky answers as he looks over at Loki who raises an eyebrow at him.

"Mama and papa love each other very much," Tony buts in with a large smile and Teddy's parents coo at the four year old while Bucky and Loki send their 'son' a glare. "Uncle Steve says so. He also says they're pretty dumb sometimes."

"Anthony," Loki warns the child who giggles, trying not to jump when Bucky places a hand on his thigh to calm him down.

"You guys aren't married, though, right?"

"No, uh, we've been kinda goin' slow, but I guess that havin' a kid kinda defeated that purpose."

Maggie and Daniel laugh at that.

*

"I am never doing that again," Loki says as they ride the elevator up to Bucky and Steve's floor, Tony fast asleep in Bucky's arms.

"Aww, come on, doll. It was fun, admit it. 'Sides, we make a pretty damn good couple, don't we?" Bucky asks the black haired man, leaning closer to him until their faces were inches apart from each other and they stared into each other's eyes.

"Do we?" Loki questions him playfully, leaning in a bit more and Bucky shifts Tony out of the way and gets ready to lean in and close the gap between them, but then the doors open and Loki's stepping off the elevator with a smirk on his face.

If he sways his hips a bit more and Bucky's gaze trails down to his ass, well no one had to know.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~ 

Tony's having a bad day. He didn't get much sleep the night before because of a nightmare and he was grumpy and didn't feel all that good. All he wanted was to go home and cuddle with someone until he felt better, but it was only nine in the morning and he still had a long way to go before someone in his family picked him up from daycare.

Teddy's in a very talkative mood this morning, which Tony doesn't appreciate because of the slight headache he has. They're meant to be coloring in a Christmas tree so that Miss Karen can hang them up later, but Tony's done all the presents surrounding the tree but not the actual tree because Teddy's been hogging the green crayon since the activity started and he won't shut up.

"And so then my mommy-"

"Can you hurry up with that stupid crayon?!" Tony shouts angrily, attracting the other teacher's attention. Tony doesn't like her, he only likes Miss Karen because she smells pretty and smiles a lot, the other teacher is kinda mean and called him a know it all when he breezed through an easy math activity. It hurt his feelings because he knows he's smarter than most kids and he hates it because the activities they do are so easy to him sometimes and so far no one else has wanted to be his friend because of it.

"Anthony, we do not use that kind of language here," the teacher scolds him and Tony huffs angrily, ignoring Teddy's sad look as he slowly slides the crayon over to him. "Now apologize to Teddy."

"Sorry," Tony grumbles, glaring at the teacher who shakes her head at him before walking away.

"Is okay. You can use the crayon now," Teddy says softly, looking down at his sheet.

"I don't want it now. I don't want to do this stupid tree."

Teddy gasps and calls the teacher back, telling her that Tony said the 's' word again and now Tony directs his glare at Teddy.

"Tattletale!" Tony shouts, trying to keep his bottom lip from wobbling because why would his best friend tell on him? "You big meanie!"

"Anthony, stop it. Don't make me put you in time out," the teacher threatens and Tony's eyes water because he's never been in time out before. He always tries to be a good little boy and even when he's bad, Bucky and Loki never put him in time out.

"I-I want my mama and papa!" Tony cries, rubbing at his eyes tiredly and sniffling.

"Anthony-"

"No! I wanna go home!"

The teacher sighs in irritation before she's grabbing Tony by the arm and dragging him over to the naughty corner where a single plastic blue chair sits facing the wall. She shoves Tony on it, making him stumble and nearly fall off the chair which sets him off crying loudly as he rubs at his arm where she'd gripped him too tight.

"And don't move until I come and get you," she tells him before walking away to tend to the other children.

"Tony? Sweetie," Miss Karen calls gently as she kneels down next to the chair and rubs his back. Tony flinches at first, but relaxes at the soothing motions. "I called your dad, he should be here soon, alright? You don't look so good, sweetie, does something hurt?"

"My h-head," he stutters out, looking at her and she gives him a soft smile.

"You should have said something, sweetie, we could have avoided all this. I know you're a very sweet boy, but it was wrong of you to yell at Teddy and call him a meanie or yell at him. Apologize to him when you feel better, okay?"

Tony nods and he's left alone again until there's arguing coming from the front door and Tony looks over to see Bucky with the mean old teacher who'd hurt his arm. Loki and Natasha appear a second later and Nat walks over to Tony who makes grabby hands at her.

 _"Kitten, are you okay?"_ She asks him in Russian, wiping away his tears gently before picking him up and holding him tight.

 _"H-Hurts, Tasha,"_ Tony tells her in between hiccups and he points to his head.

"Shh, it's okay. Lets get you home."

"You hurt my child," Loki spits out angrily once Natasha joins them and he catches sight of the red print along Tony's bare arm from where the teacher had gripped him too tight. "You will regret this mortal. We trusted you to keep him safe."

"Lo, babe, she ain't worth it. Pepper's already on it," Bucky tells the mage as he wraps his arms around his waist to hold him back. "Don't know how you're allowed near children with a temper like this."

"You can start kissing your job goodbye," Natasha informs the teacher who scowls at the group.

"Maybe you should start changing how you're raising that child. Being surrounded by superheroes won't bring him any good. Especially having gay parents," the teacher spits out with venom in her voice.

"How we raise our child is none of your business. At least we're raising him to be a better person than someone so close minded like you," Bucky argues back as he gives her his best Winter Soldier glare and starts to head towards the elevator with his family.

Loki takes Tony from Natasha and holds him tight, the child still crying quietly. Bucky wraps his arms around the two of them and Loki can feel his tension leave his body, all the anger leaving him as he holds his child who did nothing wrong to deserve that lady's rough treatment. Natasha meanwhile is still glaring at the wall and gets off the elevator first, heading straight to Pepper's office.

Once the elevator reaches their floor, Bucky presses a kiss to Loki's temple before ushering him out of it and to the living room where the others were waiting to hear what had happened. All they knew was that Bucky had received a call from the daycare saying that Tony was really upset and Natasha and Loki had gone after him.

"What happened?" Steve asked, seeing the way that Loki was holding Tony like he never wanted to let him go and how tense Bucky still was.

Bucky explains what happened from what Karen told them and the bits that they managed to get out of Tony and the team look ready to go and murder the woman who dared hurt their Tony. Wanda's hands are glowing red, but Vision places a hand on her shoulder and she seems to calm down a bit. Clint's fingers are twitching and probably wanting to grab his bow. Steve and Sam are clenching their jaws and they're lucky that Bruce and Thor aren't around.

Tony ends up missing daycare for the rest of that week due to being sick and the teacher gets fired and Pepper may or may not have ruined the woman's chances at ever working with kids again. Teddy visits on the third day of Tony being at home sick and the child genius apologizes to Teddy and the two go back to being boyfriends.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~

When Tony returns back to the daycare, he finds another boy sitting at the table he always sits at with Teddy. The boy has blonde hair and he's a little bigger than Teddy and himself and he's already laughing with Teddy who hasn't noticed that Tony's back.

Tony walks up to the table and greets them quietly before taking a seat. Teddy greets him with a smile and introduces him to Mikey. Mikey's not new, but apparently he friended Teddy while Tony was gone. Mikey doesn't say much to Tony, but that's okay because Tony isn't good with new people. They make him feel anxious and he doesn't like it. Teddy doesn't talk to him much all morning, except for when he asks him if he's finally feeling better.

During lunchtime, they don't even share their lunch. Teddy and Mikey switch their sandwiches and share the Oreos Mikey brought. Tony sits alone at the table eating his lunch sadly. Teddy still sleeps next to him during nap time and they still hold hands, but Mikey is sleeping on Teddy's other side and Tony hates it. Sure his family is always telling Tony to make more friends, but he's pretty sure he'd rather make a friend who won't ignore him every time he says something.

When Teddy's mom picks him up, Tony finds out that Mikey's going with them to eat at McDonald's. He frowns as he packs his things and follows the two boys out where Bucky and Loki are waiting for him.

"Tony, you should come too!" Teddy tells Tony who shakes his head as he makes his way over to his parents who frown at Tony's mood.

"Thank you, but no," Tony informs his best friend who frowns but shrugs as he turns to talk to Mikey.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with the boys, Tony? We're going to the movies afterwards," Maggie asks Tony with a slight frown. Usually Tony would jump at the chance to spend more time with Teddy.

"You should go, kid. You've been stuck at home all week," Bucky encourages Tony who shakes his head and lifts his arms towards Loki who picks him up.

"Don't like feeling lonely. Been lonely all day," Tony mumbles as he stares at Teddy who's giggling at something that Mikey said.

Loki follows his gaze and understanding washes over him so he places a kiss to the kid's head and bids Maggie farewell. Bucky follows them towards the elevator asking if Tony's okay.

"Teddy's not my boyfriend anymore. He forgot me and he's gots Mike now," Tony explains and Bucky shares a look with Loki who doesn't look too happy. "It's okay, I don't need friends anyway."

"Kiddo, I'm sure Teddy didn't mean to ignore you. I'm sure he's just excited that he made a new friend," Bucky tries to console the four year old, but apparently he said the wrong thing because Tony starts crying and Loki glares at Bucky. "What? What'd I say?"

"Ugh, you are hopeless, Barnes," Loki informs him as he steps out of the elevator while trying to comfort Tony who's attracted the attention of the two Avengers on the communal floor.

"Teddy doesn't like me anymore!" Tony cries into Loki's shoulder.

"He does too, Anthony. Is it not exciting when you make a new friend? How did you feel when you and Theodore became friends? You only wanted to spend time with him and you always talked about him, I am sure that is what he's feeling right now," Loki tells Tony as he sits on the couch with Tony on his lap, wiping away his tears as he makes the child look at him. "Now, I know that you do not like to share the people you like, but tomorrow, try talking with Theodore's new friend and I am sure that he would love to be your friend as well."

"P-Promise?"

"Of course, child."

The next day, Tony tried. He really did, but Mikey would ignore him and always take Teddy's attention when he was with Tony so the four year old grew frustrated because he wanted to make a new friend too, but Mikey didn't like him.

"Alright kids! I'm going to need you to pick a partner for this next activity!" Miss Karen told them and Tony looked over at Teddy with a hopeful smile that quickly vanished when he saw Teddy and Mikey were already together. "Tony, sweetie, do you still need a partner?"

"No, is okay. I'll work alone," Tony tells her as he plays with his fingers anxiously as he stared at his teacher who knelt down next to him with a slight frown as she looked over at Teddy and Mikey.

"You kinda need a partner, Tony. We're going to be working on a Christmas themed puzzle/scavenger hunt and it's best if you have a partner," she tries.

"He can work with me and Mikey!" Teddy tells her and Tony scowls and shakes his head at the same time that Mikey says, "I don't wanna work with Barnes. He's a weirdo."

"Hey, we don't talk that way about anyone, are we clear?" Miss Karen tells Mikey who shrugs. "Especially not about your classmates. It's rude and you need to learn to work with more people."

"Yeah and Tony's my boyfriend! You can't talk to him like that! He's the bestest friend I've ever had and he's so nice and pretty, too," Teddy yells at Mikey angrily and Miss Karen stifles a few giggles. "I don't wanna be your friend no more 'cause you're mean to Tony."

Maybe Tony didn't make a new friend like he wanted to, but he knew he'd always have Teddy by his side.

Or at least he thought.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~

"Hey, kid, how was daycare?" Bucky asked when Tony walked into the communal floor with Wanda later that week. He frowned, however, upon seeing Tony's upset look and wondered if he'd had another Mikey incident at daycare. "Are you okay? Why the long face?"

"Teddy's moving," Tony tells him before falling face first on the couch and Bucky sighs. Maggie had already told them about the move a week ago. Her husband was getting relocated to the Malibu SI offices since they were currently understaffed and everything was getting to be so chaotic without the genius billionaire around. Everyone in the tower was dreading the day when Tony found out and now that day was here.

"I'm sorry, kid," Bucky says in a comforting tone as he sits beside the child and rubs his back.

"I don't want him to leave, papa! Make him stay!" Tony cries as he sits up and looks at Bucky with pleading watery eyes and it breaks the super soldier's heart to see the child so worked up and not being able to do anything to take his pain away.

"I can't, kid. His parents have to go and Teddy can't stay. How would you feel if you had to go live away without us?"

"Very sad."

"Exactly. I'm sorry Teddy's leavin', but that's the way life is sometimes."

The tears finally leave Tony's eyes and Bucky pulls him into his arms and holds the child as he cries.

"I take it he knows?" Loki wonders as he approaches the two a few minutes later once Tony's crying has stopped and he's close to falling asleep.

"Yeah. Never seen the kid like this," Bucky says softly as he looks down at Tony who's sucking on his thumb as he struggles to stay awake, little tremors still running through his body.

Loki sits beside them and presses a kiss to the back of Tony's head, unsure of what to do to make him feel better. Bucky shifts so he can wrap an arm around Loki as well and the three sit cuddled up on the couch until dinner time.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~

The next day after daycare, Tony and Teddy are hugging each other goodbye while Bucky, Loki and Maggie stand and watch the two children sadly. Teddy's leaving the next morning and Tony's already thrown a tantrum about having to go to daycare when his best friend would no longer be there.

"Bye Tony," Teddy mumbles sadly as he hugs Tony tightly before letting go.

"Bye Teddy," Tony whispers, tears rolling down his cheeks as he watches Teddy and his mom get in the elevator and leave.

"Come on, kid, let's go home," Bucky tells the child as he leads him towards the private elevator with Loki.

"Teddy," Tony says softly as he clings to Bucky's legs and watching the elevator doors close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have written this chapter during one of my "I'm sad and I need to write something sad to make everyone else sad" kind of moods. Also known as that ugly ass time of the month where I'm moody af all the time for five days. Sorry :(
> 
> I'm really not promising anything, but I might do three updates this week. No promises this time.
> 
> We reach the conclusion of the Teddy and Tony story arc this week, boo. Also, Loki needs to stop playing hard to get and just let poor Bucky have a shot, like damn boi.


	22. Puppy Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "They're so small," Tony says in between giggles and Thor smiles down at the child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7 of 7

"Morning, my friends!" Thor greeted them all as he walks into the communal kitchen where Steve, Bucky, Loki, Natasha and Clint were having breakfast in a somber mood.

"Hey," they mumble in greeting, not even looking up at the god who frowns.

"Where is young Anthony? Is something the matter?" Thor asked worriedly as he looks around the room and notices the lack of a four year old running around. It's a Saturday morning, so Tony should be home, but why was it quiet and the child was nowhere to be seen?

"You've missed a lot, big guy," Clint tells him with a small sad smile.

"The little boss is waking up," FRIDAY informs the team and even she sounds upset.

"Thank you, FRIDAY," Steve tells her and Loki stands up from his seat next to Bucky.

"I will go," Loki tells them, placing a hand on Bucky's shoulder and the metal armed soldier looked up at him with a look that Thor recognized as loving and the god of thunder simply wished the two of them would get together already.

"What have I missed?" Thor asks the team as he sits next to Steve.

"Tony's best friend, Teddy, moved away. Yesterday was his last day at the daycare," Natasha explained to Thor who frowned at the news. Sure he was away most of the time, but he'd been around enough to know that Tony and Teddy were really close.

"Tony's really heartbroken. He had a rough night and wouldn't stop crying," Bucky tells Thor and the god notices that they all look pretty tired.

Loki returns a few minutes later with Tony in his arms hiding his face in the mage's neck. Thor watches his brother sit next to Bucky who moves closer to whisper something to the four year old who responds with a whine and wraps his arms tighter around Loki's neck.

"Does he want breakfast?" Steve asked Bucky who shook his head.

It breaks Thor's heart to see Anthony so upset and he thinks of ways to cheer him up, but comes up blank. For the rest of the day, Tony clings mostly to Bucky and Loki, but at one point after dinner, Tony seeks him out and Thor gladly cuddles the child.

The next day, Thor decides that enough is enough. Tony's still upset and Thor decides that he needs to do something to cheer him up, so he bundles the kid in warm clothes and takes him out of the tower to give the others some rest.

"Where are we going?" Tony asks as he looks up at Thor, his tiny hand holding the god's larger one as they walk down the street.

"Well young one, I am aware that you have been upset, so we are going to visit a place that always cheers me up," Thor tells the kid whose eyes widen slightly.

"You get sad too?"

"Aye! We all do, Anthony."

"Even mama and papa?"

"Who?"

"Loki and Bucky. They get sad too?"

"Of course. They are common emotions just like happiness and anger and being scared," Thor explains, deciding to ignore the slip in name.

It's the first week of December and there's more people walking down the streets than usual, with the holidays getting closer so Thor makes sure to keep a tight grip on Tony to not lose him. After all, Loki does keep his threats and Thor would rather not go visit his niece Hela in Hel.

They eventually reach Thor's favorite place and when they step inside, Tony gasps excitedly. It's an animal shelter.

"Hello, Mr Odinson," the owner greets as she walks over to the blonde man and child.

"Hi Jodie. I brought my nephew, Anthony, to help out today," Thor tells the short woman who smiles down at Tony who's hiding half behind Thor's legs and staring up at her with a shy smile.

"Hello Tony. Would you like to help me feed the puppies?" Jodie asks Tony who nods excitedly and follows her over to a dog play pen where six puppies were all playing with each other.

"They're so small," Tony says in between giggles and Thor smiles down at the child and chuckles as he removes Tony's coat and gloves before setting him inside the pen with the puppies who all started barking excitedly and jumping on Tony. "Hi puppies! I'm Tony!"

"He's a cute one, his parents must be over the moon with this sweet little angel," Jodie comments as her and Thor watch Tony play with the puppies.

"Aye. My brother and his partner are quite taken with the little one. They were both in bad places before young Anthony came to light up their lives," Thor tells her proudly as he watches Tony laying on the floor with the puppies all on top of him.

"Silly puppies," Tony says in between giggles.

*

"Where's that oaf? He should have been back by now," Loki grumbles angrily as he checks the time again and Bucky simply rolls his eyes as he ignores the man who's pacing back and forth.

"Would you chill? They'll be home soon," Bucky told him as he leaned back on the couch and continued to watch whatever movie he'd found. He wasn't really paying attention. He was more worried and anxious to know how Tony was doing.

"Mr Odinson and the little boss are on their way up," FRIDAY announces and Bucky turns off the TV as he looks at Loki who's heading towards the elevator doors to wait for the pair so Bucky gets up to go after him.

"Told you to wait a bit, doll. Your brother might be a giant puppy, but he's responsible," Bucky tells the mage who rolls his eyes.

The doors open and Thor and Tony step off the elevator with a puppy in Tony's arms fast asleep.

"What is that thing and why is it here?" Loki asks with a scowl and Bucky sighs.

"Look, mama! Thor gots me a puppy! Her name is Brownie," Tony informs his parents as he walks up to them to show the two his now wide awake Maltese puppy with big black eyes and Loki and Bucky shared a look. The puppy was small and it could probably fit in the palm of Bucky's hand.

"I take back what I said about Thor," Bucky mumbles, going back to staring at the puppy who was now happily licking at Tony's face.

"Lovely surprise, is it not! This tiny creature would not leave Anthony alone and so we just had to bring her home!" Thor told them happily, looking like a child himself and completely unaware of what he's done wrong.

"Did you at least buy what she will need?" Loki questioned his brother whose smile slipped from his face before getting back in the elevator.

"So we've got a kid and a dog now, wanna get married?" Bucky asks Loki in a teasing tone, wiggling his eyebrows up and down and Loki scowls, though there's a slight red tint to his cheeks that makes Bucky laugh.

Tony sets the puppy down on the floor and they watch her run off with the child following shortly after, screeching with joy.

"Well at least he's not crying anymore," Bucky comments as they go after the child.

"You are watching after the creature when Anthony's at daycare," Loki grumbles, scowling as the fluffy white dog starts to sniff at his feet.

"Why'd you name her Brownie, kid?"

"Cause she's the opposite of a brownie silly," Tony explains as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Of course, silly me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have officially reached the conclusion to the Tony and Teddy story arc and I apologize again for the last chapter. It really hurt to write.
> 
> The closer we get to Endgame the more scared I get. And also sad because I've literally grown up with these movies. I've been around since Iron Man came out and I was like 10 years old when it came out. Gonna be sad to see all the OGs go ;-;


	23. 6 Months Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Please someone tell me that's not who I think it is," Bruce mumbles as he closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, his expression clearly saying 'how is this my life?'.
> 
> "I'm ninety percent sure it's who you think it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU's of chapter 6  
> 1 of 3

"Uh, we have a problem," Clint called out through the comms, the worry in his voice making the hair on the back of Bucky's neck stand up straight.

"What kind of problem, Hawkeye?" Steve asks him, exchanging a worried look with Bucky before the two take off towards where they'd seen Hawkeye run off after Iron Man had taken a blast of weird purple light and fallen from the sky shortly afterwards.

The suit is laying empty by Clint's feet when they reach him and the archer's back is facing the team, but when Steve calls out his name and he turns around, they all gasp at the baby in his arms. The baby's big brown eyes are eerily familiar and the fact that their genius isn't around is making them all nervous.

"Please someone tell me that's not who I think it is," Bruce mumbles as he closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, his expression clearly saying 'how is this my life?'.

"I'm ninety percent sure it's who you think it is."

Natasha rolled her eyes and Steve sighed and shook his head before saying, "We need to get out of here. If the press catches a picture of Tony like this, we'll have even more problems to deal with before the day ends. We'll debrief Fury and get Tony checked out by medical before we call Strange."

The baby in Clint's arms meanwhile, had been looking around curiously with his fingers in his mouth before his eyes landed on Bucky and he squealed with excitement. They all turned their attention to the baby who was stretching his arms towards the frozen ex Hydra assassin while Clint struggled to not drop the baby as he squirmed around

"Uh Barnes, I think the little marshmallow wants to go with you," Clint said, the 'please take him before I drop him' going unsaid but was understood by Bucky who quickly snapped out of it and took the baby awkwardly.

Tony giggled and began to reach for Bucky's hair which only succeeded in him holding the baby at arms length to keep those chubby hands away from his hair. The baby began to whine and kick his legs in frustration which in turn made Bucky hold him closer so he wouldn't drop him.

"He's not gonna blow up, Buck. Just hold him properly," Steve teased his best friend who scowled at him though did not change how he held the poor infant.

"Ba! Ba!" The baby babbled as he looked between Bucky and Steve and the blonde super soldier indulged the baby by talking back.

"Yeah, I know. Bucky's being silly," Steve tells the infant who sticks his fingers in his mouth again as a response and Bucky sighs as he readjusts his hold on the baby in his arms.

They make their way onto the QuinJet which takes them to SHIELD and the infant falls asleep within the first five minutes still in Bucky's arms. Once at SHIELD, a doctor takes the baby from Bucky's arms and the soldier doesn't like the feeling of not knowing what they're doing or where the infant is, but he can't follow because Fury's waiting for them for a debrief and they still need to contact Strange.

Bucky doesn't even pay attention to the meeting, fingers tapping against his thigh and resisting the urge to go and find that innocent baby who so happened to be his teammate, probably. Most definitely.

Suddenly, halfway through the meeting, Bucky's enhanced hearing picks up the distressed sound of a baby crying and he sits up straight in his seat, ready to go and find the baby. From the corner of his eye he can see that Steve's picked up on it as well by the way his body tenses. The meeting room doors open and the crying's loud, making them all flinch at the obviously upset infant in the SHIELD medic's arms. The man looks uncomfortable so Bucky quickly stands up and takes the baby from him, rocking him and shushing the baby by whispering comforting words.

"Dr Hernandez, what's the news?" Fury asks the doctor who'd been staring at Bucky comforting the baby who by now had stopped crying and was whimpering quietly.

"Our tests came back and this is in fact, Tony Stark," the doctor tells everyone in the room who sigh in resignation though they'd expected it. "Age wise, I'd say six months old and he's perfectly healthy, miraculously. Nothing out of the ordinary came back in the tests, so whatever did this to him was definitely magic."

"Great," Clint mumbles as he looks over at the baby version of his teammate and best friend who's drooling and wetting Bucky's shirt with snot and tears, which gross. "So unless Strange can change him back, we're stuck caring for a six month old?"

"You mean us, because you can barely take care of yourself, birdbrain," Bucky argues with the archer who sticks his tongue out at him in retaliation.

"Lets hope Strange can reverse this," Bruce says with a slight shake of his head.

*

"What about Loki? Can't he try?" Bucky questioned the team after having heard Strange's verdict on the situation. It wasn't permanent, but he also wasn't sure how long until it wore off on its own and he couldn't do anything to reverse it without causing some serious damage to the baby.

"You could always get a second opinion, it obviously wouldn't hurt," Strange tells them with a shrug as the Cloak of Levitation strokes a sleeping Tony's chubby cheek softly. "The answer will still be the same. This isn't a spell that can be broken with another spell, it's far too complex for that and frankly, even if we could, we'd need to know exactly what words were said to cast it in the first place."

"And you can't estimate how long he'll be like this?" Natasha asks with her arms crossed across her chest and a thin eyebrow raised.

"It shouldn't be longer than two months, but an exact time I can't give you."

"Alright. Well, thanks anyway Dr Strange," Steve tells the man who nods and opens up a portal before leaving.

A silence settles over everyone who turn to stare at the peacefully sleeping six month old. He no longer wore that large t-shirt and was instead dressed in diapers and a long sleeved red shirt. Natasha had already placed an order of more diapers and baby clothes with FRIDAY's help, but now they would also need to order a crib and other things the baby's going to need.

Bucky wasn't even sure if Tony should be put in his own room or if the crib should be placed in someone's room. For a brief moment, he's terrified of leaving such a small vulnerable human being by himself. What if he chokes on something during the night? Or what if he wakes up crying and no ones able to hear him? Realistically speaking, his fear is nothing but that because with two super soldiers at home he's sure that won't happen unless they're not present and they have FRIDAY who could inform them if anything was wrong with Tony.

"So where are we going to set up his temporary nursery?" Clint asks his friends as he helps Nat pick out things for Tony. Well not really help, more like suggest really cute things so they can take pictures and embarrass the hell out of Tony later.

"In my room," Bucky says without thinking, but he knows it's the right choice. It's not that he doesn't trust his teammates, it's just that Clint isn't exactly responsible, Nat's not the nurturing type and he's sure she'll get frustrated if Tony cries, Bruce well he's not going to volunteer and they're not sure how the Other Guy would react to a screaming infant at three in the morning. Sam, Wanda and Vision aren't often at the tower and Rhodey's off in the Middle East on a secret mission and Pepper's too busy managing SI. Steve? Well Bucky guesses his best friend could also be a good option.

"Buck, are you sure?" Steve asks him with a worried frown on his face. It's not that he doesn't think that Bucky's capable of caring for their friend, but Bucky's just recently been cleared of the Winter Soldier and Bucky still has some bad days and caring for a baby is stressful.

"Yeah. I mean, Tony's done so much for me an' I'd like to return the favor. Besides, most of you morons wouldn't know the first thing about takin' care of a baby, much less have the patience for it," Bucky tells them with a smirk.

"I wasn't going to offer anyways. The Other Guy's already feeling a bit distressed at this," Bruce informs them with a shake of his head.

"Alright, mama Bucky it is!" Clint announces cheerfully as he claps his hands which startles the baby awake and Tony starts crying from his spot on the couch where he's surrounded by throw pillows so he won't roll off. "Oops."

Everyone turns to glare at Clint as Bucky makes his way over to pick up the sobbing infant who calms down as soon as the super soldier cuddles him to his chest.

*

Tony's first night at the tower as a six month old is... quite an experience to say the least. He woke up crying two hours after Bucky put him to sleep. He needed a diaper change. Then he slept for two more before waking up crying again. He wanted a bottle. After that it took an hour for the baby to fall back asleep and Bucky meanwhile did his best to rock him to sleep while trying not to fall asleep himself. Afterwards, Tony slept until seven in the morning when he woke up for good but thankfully he wasn't crying. He just laid in his crib babbling to himself and Bucky laid in his bed drifting on and off to sleep until Tony began to grow distressed and that's when the super soldier got up and picked up the six month old.

"You better learn to sleep through the night, baby punk," Bucky mumbled as he placed the baby in the middle of his bed to change his diaper and clothes.

A soft knock on his bedroom door sounded a few seconds later and Bucky called the person to enter. He was surprised to see Loki walking in, the mage had been off world doing who knows what. Bucky's hunch was that he was off visiting Hela since Loki only went to Asgard when Thor went and currently Thor was off with Jane.

"So it is true. FRIDAY informed me of what happened yesterday," Loki says as he walks over to Bucky and the baby who was making grabby hands at Loki and wiggling around so much that it made it hard for the soldier to put on the diaper properly. "Came to see if you needed assistance with the babe."

Bucky sighed but let Loki take over because Tony wasn't letting him put on the diaper.

"You are a tiny thing, are you not?" Loki cooed at the six month old who stopped squirming around to stare up at Loki curiously. "So precious." Loki moved his fingers around to create a small ball of green light that the baby immediately began to reach for with his chubby hands which allowed Loki to finish changing the infant and Bucky watched on with something like warmth flooding his chest. "All done."

"You've literally got the magic touch, doll," Bucky tells him as he scoops up Tony who smiles at him.

"Come now, I believe Anthony needs to eat."

The two head down to the communal floor where everyone is already at, apparently eager to see the baby and know about their first night. Though Bucky guesses Steve might know considering they share a floor.

"How was it?" Natasha asks once she spots the two walking into the room, Tony busy drooling on Bucky's shoulder to notice.

"Tiring, but otherwise okay," Bucky tells her with a shrug and Tony looks around the room finally, looking at everyone with his fingers in his mouth and making cute little noises that made the team smile.

"I think I've got baby fever," Clint mumbles as he looks away from the baby with a dreamy look on his face. "I want five of those chubby little humans."

Bucky and Steve both snorted at that and Loki moved further into the kitchen to prepare a bottle for the baby who was content in Bucky's arms and staring at everyone for the time being.

The first full day with Tony as a baby was amusing to say the least. Everyone was fighting each other for a chance to cuddle or play with the little marshmallow, as Clint had dubbed the baby. Loki and Bucky meanwhile, had unconsciously taken on the role of parents and watched with sharp eyes when someone else had Tony.

"You two need to dial down the look," Bruce teased Loki and Bucky who turned to look at him in unison with confused expressions.

"What?" Bucky questioned the doctor who chuckled.

"All new parents get this overprotective look in their faces when they let someone else carry their baby. You both have that exact same look right now and it's amusing."

Steve, having heard the entire thing, chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Tony's chubby cheek. Loki scowled and left the room which caused Tony to start crying when he didn't see the mage anywhere. Steve's face turned distressed as he didn't know how to comfort the crying infant and so Bucky sighed and took the baby back into his arms.

"Let's go find your mother," Bucky tells Tony who's still crying and in need of a diaper change.

*

"Can we feed him something other than a bottle?" Bucky questions as he scrolls through a parenting site on the baby's aged six months section.

"You can," Bruce informs the supersoldier with an amused look as he watches Bucky read through the section. "Doesn't necessarily have to be purees and such, but soft and finger safe foods."

Loki walked into the kitchen with Tony in his arms. The baby was wearing dark blue overalls with a white bodysuit underneath. The baby was chewing on his fingers despite Loki removing them from his mouth over and over again. Tony smiled when he saw Bucky and reached out towards him.

"Is he hungry?" Bucky asks Loki as he takes Tony from him and watches the black haired man open up the fridge.

"I would imagine so. He woke up half an hour ago and he last ate three hours ago," Loki informs the super soldier as he grabs a banana from the fruit basket after not finding anything in the fridge.

Bruce and Bucky watched as the mage prepared a bowl for Tony with the banana mashed and then grabbed a baby soon.

"What?" Loki asked them with a raised eyebrow. "I have kids of my own and they were once Anthony's age."

Bruce leans back and watches the two adults feed and coo over the baby on Bucky's lap. Pieces of banana were around Tony's mouth and some on his bib and hands. Bruce couldn't help but to look at the pair and shake his head. Those two were the last people to know they liked each other. There was a bet going around the tower as to how long it would take them to get together. Let's just say that none of them thought it would be soon.

"Achoo!" Tony sneezed, getting banana all over Loki who huffed and Bruce left the room as a laugh threatened to bubble out of his chest while Bucky outright laughed as he cleaned up Tony and then handed the mage a napkin.

The rest of the day was fairly easy. Tony slept, ate, used his diaper and the team (mainly Clint) would place the baby on his stomach on the ground to see if he could crawl. Tony could not crawl, yet, but he did cry every time he was placed on his stomach. Clint didn't stop trying though until Loki threatened to stab him.

When it came down to bedtime, Loki and Bucky did the routine together and when Tony was fast asleep, they stood by his crib watching the little angel sleep peacefully.

"You won't leave me to do this alone, will ya?" Bucky asked Loki as he turned to look at the man standing next to him who was staring at the baby with a longing expression.

"Of course not. Our teammates are not exactly equipped to handle an infant and I appreciate you too much to let you do this on your own, Barnes," Loki replied as he looked at Bucky and gave him a smirk. "Can't let you be a single mother."

"Ha ha ha. Real charmin', doll."

Loki turned his attention back to Tony, gaze softening and he reaches over to brush Tony's hair aside. Bucky decided that he liked that look on Loki. It made him look more genuine.

"Sleep well, Anthony," Loki mumbles softly before he's leaving the room.

"Only you would get caught up in somethin' like this, Tones," Bucky says fondly as he stares down at the sleeping baby who curled and uncurled his fist.

*

Peter finds out two days later when he drops by the tower searching for Mr Stark. It was Friday and the team had grown used to seeing Peter arrive after school to mess around in Tony's lab. However, upon arriving at the communal floor and finding a group of "intimidating" superheroes cooing over a baby who looked just about done with everyone, it made the teenager freeze and wonder if he'd somehow walked into a wrong dimension.

"Um, what's going on? Where's Mr Stark?" Peter asks the group who all looked up at him with wide eyes, clearly having forgotten what day it was.

"Ba!" The baby called out excitedly as he stared up at Peter with large brown eyes and wiggled around where he was sitting on the floor.

"You're lookin' at him," Bucky grumbles tiredly from his spot on the floor where he was laying next to Tony with his eyes closed. Four days and Bucky was already exhausted. Tony apparently still had his bad sleeping habits.

"Uh w-what? Oh my gosh! What happened?" Peter asked as he scooped up the baby who shrieked happily.

"Spell gone wrong, Strange and Loki can't change him back so could be a few more weeks of Stark being like this," Clint explains as he leans back against the couch, toying with a set of toy keys. "Frankly, I prefer him this way. Less sass."

Peter winced as Tony dug his nails into his neck, babbling and drooling. The teenager had to admit that Mr Stark was a pretty cute baby, no matter how weird it sounded. Or how good the baby smelled.

"Parker, stop sniffing the baby," Bucky told the teenager as he sat up and stared at Peter with a raised eyebrow, the others snickering.

Peter blushes, not having realized that he'd pressed his nose to the baby's head. Did all babies smell this good? He didn't want to let go of the baby, but he did when Tony decided to start sucking on his shirt.

"Gross," Peter mumbled as he held the baby at arm's length before setting him back down next to Bucky. "So this is the new normal for now? You guys turning into a puddle of goo for a baby? If only the villains could see you now."

"Oh please, Parker, like you weren't taken with the baby already," Clint tells him with a scoff.

Loki walked into the room and Tony let out a loud shriek when he saw the prince, making everyone cringe at the sound.

"Yes it is good to see you too, Anthony," Loki tells the six month old with a soft look on his face as Bucky stands up from his spot on the ground with the baby in his arms.

"Your turn. I'm goin' to sleep," Bucky informs Loki as he hands a happy baby over to Loki who rolls his eyes.

"Hey, we could have taken care of the tiny marshmallow," Clint argued and Natasha rolled her eyes as she got up and stretched.

"Don't kid yourself, Clint," Bruce tells him, not even looking up from the book he was reading.

Peter laughs at Clint's expression as everyone ganged up on him.

It was weird for Peter to see how domestic Bucky and Loki seemed with the baby version of his mentor. Well not that weird since the two were mother hens to the adult version of Tony all the time. He just wondered if the two would ever get together. He hoped they did.

"So, you wanna be on diaper duty for the rest of the night?" Clint asked the teenager who grimaced at the thought.

"Gross. No thank you," Peter replies, but he still follows Loki when he mentions that Tony needs a diaper change.

They head to Loki's floor where an extra crib and baby supplies are kept. Peter looks through the baby toys until Tony makes an upset sound when Loki places him on the bed to change his diaper so the teenager heads over.

"He dislikes diaper changes," Loki informs Peter as he begins to remove the baby's pants and unbutton his red bodysuit.

"Why so fussy?" Peter coos at the baby, trying to keep him entertained as Loki works quickly on changing his diaper. "Don't like getting your diaper changed?"

To make things easier on Loki, Peter used his webs to create a ball for Tony to play with. The infant was so easily entertained that next thing he knew, Loki was done changing him and was picking him up. Tony was staring at Peter curiously as he sucked on two fingers and gripped Loki's shirt with his free hand. Peter made funny faces at the six month old who smiled wide and Loki stared at the teenager in amusement.

"Are you going to turn into a puddle of goo for the baby?" Loki questioned the teenager who flushed.

"It's just- babies are so cute and tiny and I've never really been around one. I remember asking my parents for a baby brother or sister," Peter says a bit more quietly, a soft sad smile on his face as he stared at Tony who was now staring up at Loki and tugging on his hair.

"Well, it may seem that you have gotten your wish, even if it is temporary," Loki tells the teenager as he passes the six month old over to Peter who gladly holds Tony who's giggling now and looking between the two.

"Then I promise to be the best big brother I can."

*

Two weeks later finds Bucky, Loki and Peter alone at the tower with Tony. They're on the supersoldiers' floor in the living room with a thick fluffy blanket spread out on the floor with Tony sitting on top of it and toys scattered around him. Loki and Bucky sit on the couch, the mage reading and the soldier watching TV while Peter sits beside Tony who's banging on his toy drums excitedly.

"You playing AC/DC?" Peter asks the baby, Bucky snorting behind him in amusement. "Which song?"

"Aa!" Tony shrieks as he looks up at Peter with a gummy smile.

"Love that song."

Tony goes back to banging on his drums which makes lights and sounds each time he does and Peter leans back against the couch and stretches his legs out. Suddenly Tony gets on his hands and knees and the other three sit up in anticipation. This was the most Tony had moved since he'd always start crying when Clint would place him on his stomach. Tony's gaze is on an orange block he'd managed to throw out of his reach.

Peter watches with wide eyes and a smile on his face as he watches the six month old pat the ground a few times, as if testing it, before lifting his left leg up and moving it forward and then his right before he loses his balance and falls to his stomach.

"You did it, little man!" Peter exclaims happily as he picks up Tony who starts to smile and wiggle around excitedly in his arms.

"Would ya look at that, Lokes, our little one is starting to crawl now," Bucky tells Loki with a grin on his face as the two look at Tony who's soaking up all the attention Peter is giving him. "FRIDAY, did ya get that?"

"Certainly did, Sargent. Would you like me to send it to the other Avengers?" FRIDAY asks.

"Please, doll."

Peter sets Tony down on the blanket again and sits in front of him a few feet away, smiling wide when Tony slowly starts to make his way towards him with a large grin. When the others get home and they try to get Tony to crawl again, but the baby simply sits there smiling up at all of them as he sucks on his fingers.

"Wow, you must really hate us, brat," Clint tells the baby who only grins around his fingers.

Bucky simply smirks as he watches the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been awfully sick which is why I haven't updated in awhile, but I'm better now. I managed to buy tickets to Avengers Endgame the minute they came out even though I was coughing up my lungs and running a fever (the dedication is real, lmao) so I'll be seeing the movie on Thursday the 25th and I'm so damn excited !!!
> 
> How cute is baby Tony tho? The kid I babysit, she turns 9 months old in a few days and I've been babysitting her since she was 6 m/o so I based Tony off of her at that age. It was hard trying to change her diaper cause she'd squirm around and cry unless you were distracting her.


	24. The Terrible Twos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "An actual toddler version of Tony Stark? What did I do to deserve this cruel punishment!" Clint cried as he stared up at the ceiling, waving his arms upwards in an over dramatic fashion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 of 3

"No!" A child screamed defiantly.

"Oh boy," Sam mumbles as he rubs at his temples and Bucky stares down at the two year old completely unimpressed, but the look doesn't faze the curly haired child who's now taken to stomping his feet angrily.

"An actual toddler version of Tony Stark? What did I do to deserve this cruel punishment!" Clint cried as he stared up at the ceiling, waving his arms upwards in an over dramatic fashion.

"He's been here two days and all he can say is no, are we sure he can say other things besides that?" Natasha asks the group as she eyes Tony who's glaring cutely at the team.

"Anthony," Loki says calmly as he approaches the toddler who looks up at him with wide brown eyes filled with curiosity. "Stop this nonsense, now."

Tony, to the surprise of the whole team, lifted his arms up towards Loki who stared at the two year old for a few seconds before picking him up. Bucky watched in amazement as the toddler buried his face in the prince's neck, a tiny hand stroking Loki's long hair as the tiny body relaxed completely.

"Is that all it's going to take? Seriously?" Clint wonders, he too watching the interaction between the two with wide eyes. "We should have called Loki in since day one."

"Go home?" The child asks, voice muffled from where he's hiding his face and they all freeze.

In the two days that their teammate's been a two year old, he's given no actual indication about if he remembers anything at all from his past childhood or adult Tony. The word no has been his favorite word and not even Doctor Strange could figure it out. Though the spell was only meant to last a few weeks, the team weren't sure how to care for this situation.

"You are home, Anthony," Loki informs the two year old carefully and Tony comes out of his hiding place to look at them with a confused frown on his face. "All of us here are your family, little one."

Tony doesn't say anything, just goes back to hiding his face in Loki's neck and the rest of them let out a frustrated sigh. They weren't getting any answers and they weren't sure what they were getting into, but they knew it would be one hell of a ride.

To the team's relief, Tony listened to Loki and did what he was told instead of answering 'no' over and over again until he caused headaches. On the downside, Tony _only_ listened to Loki and _only_ wanted to be with Loki so they set up his room on Loki's floor and it seemed like the mage didn't mind. If anything, they saw how easily Loki slipped into the parent role. He was patient, protective, stern when he needed to be and smiled fondly at the child more often than not. And Bucky? Well he couldn't deny the warmth in his chest when he saw Loki looking so soft and happy.

Two days later, Loki walked into the communal kitchen with Tony following after him hugging a stuffed bear to his chest and looking pouty. In the kitchen, the rest of the team are getting ready to eat breakfast and they look up and smile at the toddler who smiles brightly back at all of them.

"Morning Tony, are you hungry?" Natasha asks the child softly, a smile on her face as she crouches down in front of him while Loki heads over to Bucky who's the one that's cooking everyone's breakfast this morning.

"Wan' milk," Tony tells her with a nod. "Teddy hungry, too."

"Oh, your teddy's hungry too? Well, let's get him some food in his tummy so he can have a full belly like you."

Tony nods and heads over to Loki who's rolling his eyes as Bucky tells him something. Loki looks down as Tony leans into his leg and he smiles, running his fingers through the short dark curls on the child's head.

"Ya want pancakes, Tones? With chocolate chips?" Bucky asks the two year old who gasps excitedly and nods.

"Yes! Teddy too!"

"Comin' right up. Pancakes, Lo?"

"Sure."

The whole team sits together to eat breakfast, Tony sitting on a booster seat to help him reach the table and he was placed between Loki and Bucky, the two taking turns helping feed the two year old.

"Oops," Tony says and they all turn to look at his shirt which is a mess of syrup and whipped cream.

Loki took one look at the kid and sighed. He supposes it was a good thing that Tony hadn't had a bath last night, but he was not looking forward to it. The toddler liked to splash around and he cried and screamed when he was set in the water and then he cried and screamed when they tried taking him out of the water. It's certainly going to be a nightmare and Loki doesn't want to deal with that so early on in the day.

"Someone's gonna need a bath," Clint comments in amusement as he takes a big bite of his pancakes, eyeing the two year old who's smearing the syrup on his pajama shirt with both hands. "And to learn some manners."

"Anthony, no. Don't do that," Loki reprimanded the toddler as he pulled his hands away from his shirt and Bucky got up to go wet a dish towel.

"Sticky, Lo," Tony tells him as he shows Loki his hands and begins to giggle while the god of mischief makes a face as he keeps the toddler from touching him.

"Yes, I can see that, child."

Bucky snickered as he returned and began to clean away the sticky mess on the child's hands while Tony giggled like mad as he looked up at Bucky who made funny faces at the two year old. Loki heard the familiar sound of a camera going off and he looked over with a glare to see Sam with his phone out and a shit eating grin on his face. Beside Sam, Steve snickered and Loki glared at the both of them.

*

"Stop it," Loki warned the two year old who kept splashing in the bathtub and giggling, completely ignoring the mage who was growing more and more irritated by the second.

"Need help?" Bucky asked from the doorway of the large bathroom, an amused look on his face as he looked at the scene in front of him.

Loki just moved over to make room for Bucky who knelt down next to him, reaching over for the children's shampoo they'd gotten Tony.

Many splashes of water, shampoo in Tony's eyes, rubber duck to Bucky's face and whining later, the two finished bathing the two year old who was now wrapped in a yellow towel with a duck hood pulled over his head. Tony trailed after Loki and Bucky who headed into the toddler's temporary room, singing quietly to himself as he tried to match his tiny steps to the adults much bigger and longer ones. Bucky had offered to carry him, but they'd noticed that this two year old liked to be independent and scream that he was a big boy even though he wore pull ups and sometimes forgot to tell them when he needed to use the bathroom.

"Want Spidey," Tony tells Loki as he goes over to where the prince is picking out a shirt. "Please."

"Alright," Loki agrees with a soft smile as he looks down at the child who giggles and runs over to Bucky who picks up the two year old.

Between the two of them, they get Tony changed and ready for the day and once ready, Tony runs off to go play with his toys which are scattered all over Loki's living room. Tony sits happily on the floor and grabs the big Lego pieces that are placed in a large container that he quickly pushes to its side so the pieces fall out.

"Where Teddy?" Tony asks suddenly, looking around the room and frowning when he didn't see his beloved bear anywhere.

"Teddy's taking a bath, kid," Bucky informs the two year old who gasps loudly as he turns to stare at the man with wide eyes. "That's kinda creepy, don't look at me like that."

"Teddy no like bath! He scared of water!" Tony screamed as he stands up, little hands balled up into fists as he looks genuinely angry on Teddy's behalf.

"Anthony, you got Teddy all dirty during breakfast this morning and he needed to get clean," Loki says sternly and that's all it takes for the child to start screaming and crying again. Loki only sighs and walks to his kitchen to make himself some tea.

"FRIDAY, how much longer until the bear is done?" Bucky asks the AI when Tony shoves his face into a cushion where he keeps screaming.

"Approximately thirty minutes, Sargent Barnes," FRIDAY informs him with an apologetic tone in her voice and Bucky thanks her as he runs a hand through his hair, wincing as the toddler starts coughing and his voice starts to sound a little hoarse.

"Tony, honey," Bucky says gently as he picks up the child who screams and tries to hold onto the couch but eventually is settled against Bucky's chest where he continues to cry. Bucky holds onto the toddler and starts to sing to him in Russian which eventually has Tony calming down, soft sniffles being heard every now and then.

Loki walks back over once the screaming has stopped, a cup of tea in his hands and a relieved expression on his face. Bucky winked at the black haired man as he kept singing and rocking the two year old gently.

"He is going to fall asleep and it will throw his whole day off, Barnes," Loki warned the super soldier who shrugged. In the past few days Loki had been working on getting Tony into a schedule where he ate at a certain time, had a nap right after lunch, then a snack and so on. If Tony napped now, he definitely wouldn't be sleeping after lunch and it'll be a long day with a cranky toddler.

"No worries babe, I'll still get him to nap later," Bucky promised in a quiet voice since Tony's eyes were starting to close and his thumb was in his mouth.

"Then he won't sleep tonight if he sleeps so much during the day."

The elevator doors opened to reveal Steve who was holding Tony's bear, all perfectly washed and dried and wow, had it already been thirty minutes?

"Steeb?" Tony mumbles tiredly around his thumb once he spots the blonde soldier, lifting his head from Bucky's shoulder before gasping excitedly once he sees the bear. "Teddy okay!"

"He's squeaky clean, champ," Steve informs the two year old who's making grabby hands at the bear, now squirming around in Bucky's arms with renewed energy that made both Bucky and Loki sigh for different reasons. "He's all clean and ready to play with a certain little boy named Tony."

"I Tony! Bucky! Lo! Teddy play with Tony!" Tony exclaimed as he faced his two caretakers who smiled fondly at the toddler.

"That's right kiddo, Teddy probably missed you a lot," Bucky says as he sets the child down and watches him run over to Steve who hands him the bear.

"Teddy!" Tony says as he hugs his beloved bear tightly, no sign of a previous tantrum left besides the dull throbbing of Loki's head from the high pitched screaming. "Thank you Steeb!"

Steve chuckled and ruffled the toddler's hair, the three adults watching as Tony goes back to his mess of toys like he hadn't been seconds away from falling asleep a few minutes ago.

"So, having fun playing house?" Steve asks the two, laughing as Loki throws a glare his way before heading back into the kitchen.

"Like you'd be able to look after Tony for a whole day," Bucky says with a scoff as he folds his arms across his chest and raises an eyebrow in a challenging manner.

"You two have it handled here, so I'll just leave it to you guys."

"Hey Tones, you wanna spend some time with Steve?" Bucky asks the toddler without taking his eyes away from Steve who frowns at him.

"With Steeb?! I wanna go!" Tony shouts excitedly as he stands up with his bear and goes up to the blonde super soldier, bouncing and stretching his arms up until Steve takes the hint and picks him up. "We play, Steeb?"

"Of course, Tones. Let's go play," Steve tells the child in a fond tone before he looks up to glare at Bucky who's laughing quietly. "You will pay for this, Barnes."

"Whatever you say, punk."

Steve glares at Bucky until the elevator doors close and he focuses on the two year old that's singing happily in his arms. Maybe spending some time with the toddler won't be so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me way too long to write this chapter so I decided to just go with 3 instead of 5. The ages I cut out are 7 years old and 12 years old.
> 
> I can't believe Endgame is next week already. I am so not ready. Anyways, I'll be offline all of next week until Thursday night after I watch the movie to avoid spoilers, so there won't be any updates. I do have an Easter chapter I'm working on so fingers crossed I can get that out on Sunday. Though I'm guessing that chapter will be separate from this and instead will be it's own work like Candy Stealer.


	25. 17 Years Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter giggled slightly and dodged as Tony threw a pillow at him. Apparently this was going to become their thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 of 3  
> Warnings: Mentioned/Referenced underage drinking, Howard's Bad Parenting
> 
> Also my longest chapter to date, fucking love.

"Can I come in?" Peter asks a bit hesitantly as he stands in the doorway of his room, eyes glued to the person sitting on his bed with their knees pulled up to their chest and looking so utterly lost and confused it hurts the teenager.

"I don't know, can you?" They ask as they lift their head up and there's a smirk of amusement on their face, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Peter groans as his lips twitch up into a smile and says, "You sound just like my English teacher. _May_ I come in?"

"It's your room, kid." They shrugged and Peter walked inside and took a seat on the bed a bit awkwardly. "What's up?"

"We're technically around the same age now, stop calling me kid," Peter argues in a lighthearted tone that makes the person sitting next to him chuckle. "How are you? D-Do you need anything?"

"Uh I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'm not in 1991, my parents have been dead for over two decades and I'm supposed to be in my early forties. My head hurts in a way that makes me wonder if I'm not actually hungover, but I know that can't be it because I've been here for two days and your hot aunt doesn't have any alcohol," Tony lists off and Peter makes a face at the comment about his aunt and rolls his eyes at Tony who smirks at him. "I'd say I could be doing a lot worse."

"Well you are emotionally stunted so-"

Tony gasped dramatically before grabbing a pillow from the bed and hitting Peter with it. Peter laughed as he took the pillow away and hit Tony back which made the teenager fall back with a loud shriek that only made Peter laugh harder.

That was when May decided to poke her head into the room and smiled at the two teenagers who were still laughing and hitting each other with the pillows. When her nephew had brought in the teenage version of Tony Stark, she hadn't been sure how to react. Peter had explained to her that he'd found him after having gone missing the day before. The rest of the Avengers were split into two teams to deal with two different missions and Tony hadn't been able to go because of an important board meeting at SI. Tony had no memories beyond seventeen and having to find out that his parents were dead and that he was in the wrong year had taken its toll on the teenager. As far as May knew, the Avengers were out of range and Peter and his AI, Karen, couldn't make contact with them, but Karen had left a message with FRIDAY who would give it to the team as soon as she could reach them.

"Peter, I asked you to come and get Tony for dinner, not kill each other with pillows," May scolded her nephew playfully, chuckling and shaking her head at the two boys with their messy curly hair and large smiles as they sat up to look at her. Honestly, if May were some stranger on the street meeting them for the first time, she would have thought that Peter and Tony were brothers with how similar they looked. They both had the dark curly hair and large doe like eyes.

"Oops," Peter says and then both he and Tony burst into giggles again and May sighs.

It takes another two days before FRIDAY informs Peter that she was able to make contact with one of the teams. She doesn't specify with who she made contact, but then his phone's going off with Steve's name flashing on the screen and it startles Tony out of his thoughts. It was unnerving to see Tony so quiet. Peter wasn't sure if he was still trying to process everything he's learned in the last couple of days, but it was strange to not hear him make a sarcastic or sassy remark over everything.

"Uh hello?" Peter answers quickly, shooting Tony an apologetic look.

"Peter? It's Steve, FRIDAY said that something had happened. Is everything okay?" Steve asked worriedly and Peter sighed a bit as he began to pace the length of his room, ignoring Tony's curious gaze.

"Uh I well no one's hurt, but uh you might need to see this to believe it," Peter informs him. "I-It's Mr Stark- er Tony, I mean."

"What happened to Tony? Is he okay?"

In the background, Peter could hear other voices asking if Tony was hurt and Bucky demanding that Steve put the phone on speaker.

"He's not hurt, but uh he went missing a few days ago and-"

 _"What?! How come no one informed us?!"_ Bucky asked and then he was being shushed.

 _"Quiet James, let the boy speak,"_ Loki said sternly.

"I found him, but it's not really him? You know that one movie with Zac Efron where he wakes up one day and he's seventeen again? Well that's Tony."

It's silent on the other end of the phone before someone is sighing and he's pretty sure he can hear Natasha mumble a fond _'Only Tony'_ and Peter grins as he looks over at Tony who's gone back to staring out the window, looking much smaller than Peter even though he's only a year older now.

"Where are you?" Steve eventually asks him.

"My place, but uh we could meet you at the tower. I don't think May would be too happy to come home from work and find a whole bunch of superheroes at her place."

"Alright, but be safe. If anything happens, call us right away. We'll have our phones on," Natasha tells Peter sternly.

"Will do."

Peter hangs up and goes over to Tony who looks up at him tiredly. Tony hadn't slept much, if not at all, since he was found and Peter was worried the now teenager would drop from exhaustion soon. He briefly wonders if the teenage version of his mentor had the same sleeping habits as the adult version.

"I'm guessing that was the team you were talking about the other day?" Tony asked Peter who nodded as he went around his room looking for his shoes.

"Well, part of the team. They were split in two and sent on two different missions, but one of them is back and they want to see us," Peter explains to the seventeen year old who nods though there's a slight frown on his face. "So we're heading out to Avengers Tower."

"Oh. And uh you say they're my friends, right? Th-That adult me knows them all pretty well?" Tony questions and he sounds so nervous, scared and like he can't believe that he actually has a whole group of friends that Peter can't help but to relate to the teen.

"They're more than your friends, they've become your family. I know it's hard to believe because I still can't believe that they've taken me in as one of their own as well, but they're all amazing people and they care about you a lot."

Tony nods but doesn't say anything else.

*

FRIDAY takes them up to the communal floor and Tony looks around the whole time, eyes wide and looking overwhelmed again. To go from being in the 90's to now when technology is so advanced and everything looks so different must be pretty difficult. Peter's not sure how Tony's holding it together so well. Unless he's exactly like his adult self and he bottles it all in until it spills over.

The room is empty, FRIDAY informing them that the others are still on their way so Tony goes over to stand by the window and stares out of it much like earlier. Peter meanwhile begins to pace around in the living room as he thinks back to when he found Tony.

**A Few Days Ago**

"Alright Karen, we got anything else?" Peter asked his AI as he sat on the edge of a rooftop and looking down into the unusually quiet streets of Queens that night.

"There seems to be a disturbance two blocks from here," Karen replies.

Peter swings off to where Karen indicates him and finds a boy around his age trying to break free from three men much bigger than him dressed in black uniforms.

"Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Peter yelled as he swung from a web and kicked one of the guys away from the boy.

The other two pull out their guns and the teen they'd been holding falls to the ground on his hands and knees. In an instant, Spider-Man webs the three guys up and is practically shaking with anger when Karen informs him that they were HYDRA agents. Kind of ironic since the Avengers had been split up into two smaller teams to go take down HYDRA bases a few days ago.

"Hey uh, are you okay?" Peter asks the teenager as he crouches down in front of him. "Karen?"

"Medical attention is not required but is suggested. I'm not detecting any broken bones or fractures, just a few minor cuts and some bruising," Karen told him and Peter nodded slightly, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, we can work with that. Hey, so uh do you need help getting home or something?"

The guy looked up and Peter found himself staring into wide brown eyes that he couldn't understand why they looked so familiar. It made him frown a bit at not being able to place the where or why they seem so familiar.

"I don't know where I am or why you're dressed in a onesie that tight, which looks pretty good on you by the way, or who the hell you are," the teenager says as he sits back to get a good look at Spider-Man and that's when the young vigilante notices the dried blood near his left eyebrow and the large bruise covering most of the left side of his face. It's dark and different shades of black, blue and purple and it makes Peter internally wince.

"Uh I'm uh Spider-Man and you're in Queens which is where I'm from and where I you know, stop all the bad guys and stuff," Peter explains to him.

"Spider-Man? You sound twelve and why the hell am I in Queens? Last thing I fully remember is being back in my dorm at MIT and bothering Rhodey."

"Rhodey? Y-You don't by any chance mean James Rhodes, do you?" It definitely can't be the same Rhodey because he's not even in the states and this guy looks to be not much older than Peter himself.

"Uh yeah, how do you know my Rhodey?"

"Karen? Pull up a picture of Mr Stark during his MIT days," Peter told his AI who did as she was told and he couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped him. "Holy shit."

*

Peter's brought out his memories by Steve talking. "Peter? Kid, we're here."

"Oh!" Peter exclaims, slightly startled and he notices Tony turn to look at the new people in the room with a blank expression. Maybe Peter should have been paying more attention.

"Explain to us what happened," Bucky tells the teenager who nods quickly.

"I was on patrol a few days ago when Karen informed me of a disturbance a few blocks away from where I was and when I went over to investigate I saw Tony struggling to break free from three men," Peter begins to explain, Tony moving closer to them until he's standing slightly behind Peter, almost hiding behind him. "Of course I didn't know it was Tony at the time and so I fought the guys and helped Tony out and he mentioned Rhodey so I kind of put two and two together."

"Do you know who the guys were?" Natasha asks him and that's when they see the teenager tense.

"HYDRA."

"Fuck," Bucky mumbles and Loki places a hand on his back in a comforting gesture.

"So you're the Avengers?" Tony asks the adults in front of him, eyes narrowed.

"Well, part of the team. The others are still on a mission," Steve informs Tony who nods though he's still staring at them blankly.

"Do you need medical assistance?" Loki questions the teenager softly once he sees the still ugly bruise on his face and the healing cut near his eyebrow.

"Nothing life threatening." Tony shrugs casually, trying to wave off their concern but they all see him wince in pain anyway. Peter knows it's his shoulder and the bruised ribs that still bother him.

"Come, at least let me check your bruises."

Tony hesitates for a few seconds, looking at Peter for reassurance and goes off with Loki when the other teenager nods and smiles encouragingly at him. With those two gone, that leaves Peter, Steve, Bucky and Natasha in the living room to discuss things.

*

Peter helps Tony settle in the guest bedroom on Loki's floor seeing as Tony had gotten along better with the mage than the rest of the team. Peter had noticed that Tony was tense around Steve, especially when he'd used his Captain voice when talking with Fury and Hill over the phone earlier.

"So why can't I stay in my floor? I do have one, right?" Tony asks Peter as he looks around the room curiously. It's decorated just like any guest bedroom; a bed, nightstand, dresser and an arm chair near the window. Completely devoid of anything personal.

"You do have one, but it's safer if you stay with someone in case those guys try coming back again," Peter explains to Tony who scoffs a bit but doesn't protest the idea.

"You said I built this tower, did I not build a good security system for this?"

"As far as I'm aware, you did, but anything can happen. FRIDAY could become compromised and your floor is on the very top and if the elevators were to stop working, then it'd be hard to get to you. Besides, Loki's got his magic and stuff."

Tony let out a small sigh and said, "This kind of makes me feel like Rapunzel."

Peter giggled slightly and dodged as Tony threw a pillow at him. Apparently this was going to become their thing.

*

"So we're going with the theory that HYDRA turned Tony back into a teenager for their own convenience?" Bucky asked the other three adults in the room, a frown on his face. "Because this sounds like somethin' they would do. Tony's back to bein' a teenager with no adult memories, it would make it easy for HYDRA to mold him into their perfect weapon. Especially being this young and small."

"You make a terrifyingly good point, Buck," Steve mumbles as he runs a hand through his hair, face showing the exhaustion he was feeling. "Until we're sure, Fury said to be alert at all times and to not let him out of our sight, which knowing Tony, he won't like it at all."

"I know, but if HYDRA really is behind all this, then we need to be cautious," Natasha reminds them. "Loki, do you know if you can change Tony back?"

"I am not sure. HYDRA didn't use magic to change him back to a teenager, it could take awhile, but maybe there's a spell I can use," Loki answers with a slight frown. "Even then, I could not guarantee that his memories would return. Maybe Doctor Strange could be of assistance."

Peter walks back into the room after awhile and they all turn to look at him waiting to hear about Tony.

"He fell asleep right away. He hasn't slept in the last few days so he could be out for the rest of the night. I uh told FRIDAY that if he needs me to just give me a call," Peter tells them a little nervously as he stands by the kitchen doorway.

"Alright, thanks, Pete. Are you staying the night or do you need someone to take you home?" Steve asked the teenager.

"Happy's downstairs waiting for me."

"Okay, have a good night, kid," Bucky calls after the retreating teen who waves back as he heads towards the elevator.

After that, they all headed to their respective floors with Steve giving FRIDAY a message to pass along to the other team whenever they managed to get into contact again.

The night is long for everyone, but even longer for Tony who wakes up halfway through the night after a nightmare only to sit in the darkness of his room afterwards and watch the minutes pass by at an agonizingly slow pace. There was nothing in the room he could use to entertain himself with and he didn't want to go out of his room to go and explore his tower. Once the sun rises though, he walks out of his room and heads to the kitchen, jumping when he finds Loki already sitting at the island with a cup of tea and a book open in front of him on the counter.

"Uh morning," Tony greets the prince who looks up from his reading.

"Morning, Anthony. How did you sleep?" Loki asks him as he grabs his cup and takes a careful sip.

"I slept." Tony shrugged as he sits next to Loki who looks at him, probably trying to read the teenager but looks back to his book once he realizes that Tony's closed off.

"I have noticed your hesitance with Steve, is it anything of importance?"

"It's nothing. Just- It's really him, huh? The original Steve Rogers? Like he's not a clone or anything? Because if technology is this advanced to turn me into this again, then who's to say that there aren't clones running around out there?" Tony asks and for a brief second, Loki can see the excitement flash across his eyes along with fear? That couldn't be right, could it?

"That it is. He was found in the ice, I believe, a few years ago. He spent seven decades trapped in ice."

"Huh, well look at that. Ironic. My old man spent my whole childhood searching for him and now that he's dead, Rogers gets found."

"Ah, I get it now," Loki says but doesn't say more when Tony looks at him with a confused look.

Tony keeps to himself the rest of the day, only interacting with Loki and FRIDAY and on the one occasion, Barnes. Tony had walked out of his room and was heading to the kitchen in search of some food when he saw Loki and Bucky in the living room sitting too close to each other. Later, once back in his room, Tony had asked FRIDAY if the two of them were together, but she'd replied with, "They're too stubborn to admit to anything, boss." Peter visits for a bit and stays for dinner and Tony relaxes with the other teenager's company.

The next day, Tony leaves the tower without telling anyone anything. It's stupid, he knows, especially with the guys that Peter had saved him from still being out there, well, he's not really supposed to know that but he eavesdropped on their conversation that morning. Apparently HYDRA was still a thing and they somehow wanted him. He leaves the tower with just the phone they'd given him and FRIDAY awaiting instructions to call the team in case things went to shit.

_"Boss, I don't think you should be leaving the tower," FRIDAY had told him in a slightly nervous tone._

_"Baby girl, Rapunzel needs some fresh air. I promise I'll be back quick and to call for help," Tony reassures her as he ties his shoes and then grabs the hoodie he'd borrowed from Peter. Well more like stolen because he wasn't going to give it back now._

And so now here was Tony walking further and further away from the tower with no real destination in mind. Everything was so unfamiliar and overwhelming. A lot of people were walking down the sidewalk, some hurrying to get to work, some tourists with their phones out taking pictures of everything. Shoving his hands in the hoodie's pocket, he kept walking with his head down even though he knew that logically people probably wouldn't recognize him, but he did it anyways in case HYDRA was watching.

*

Peter had just been walking out of school, thankful that it was Friday and planning to spend the weekend at the tower when his phone went off with Steve's name flashing on the screen. For a second, his heart dropped down to his stomach thinking something had happened, that maybe HYDRA had taken Tony after all, but he shook his head to clear his thoughts and answered.

"Hi Mr Rogers, sir," Peter greeted him a little nervously as he stopped walking, basically in the other students' path.

"Hey Pete, I don't mean to alarm you, but has Tony called you?" Steve asked him and Peter tried to remember if he'd seen any missed calls on his screen.

"Uh no sir, he hasn't. I just got out of school anyway, but- is everything alright?"

"Tony left the tower at some point during the day and FRIDAY is only telling us that he's okay and not in danger, but we don't know where he is and we thought he'd called you at least," Steve explained and Peter could easily detect the worried tone in his voice and it certainly didn't make Peter feel any better.

"I'll call him and maybe ask Karen to get FRIDAY to get me his location," Peter says as he starts to look around and begins to walk away from the school building and loud students when he stops dead in his tracks. "Uh actually, sir, I just found Tony. He's here."

"At your school? Well at least he's okay, just bring him back, alright, kid?"

"Will do." Peter hung up and headed over to where Tony was just casually leaning against a tree, a smirk on his face as he pulled a hand out of his pocket to wave lazily at him. "Holy shit, dude, what the hell are you doing here? The others are pretty worried."

"Well I got tired waiting for my prince to ask me to let down my hair, so I snuck past my prison guards, made a deal with FRIDAY and decided to take a walk," Tony explains to him as if it were the most normal thing in the world to just sneak out of a tower filled with superheroes and walk down the dangerous streets of New York on his own knowing there was a pretty dangerous organization after him. Totally no big deal.

"Tony, did you seriously walk from the tower to Queens? Are you insane?"

"I hitched a ride about halfway here. Might have had a beer or two with this guy I met, he was totally hot. And I will neither confirm nor deny a make out session or two happened."

Peter stares at the teenager in front of him with wide eyes and mouth slightly open in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did Tony seriously just risk his life like that simply because he wanted to get out of the tower? He quickly wiped the expression off his face because this was Tony Stark and his mentor was always doing stupid shit, like inviting a terrorist to his house on Christmas.

"You're going to be a huge pain in my ass, aren't you?" Peter eventually asked him, already resigning himself to his fate and the couple of heart attacks this crazy teenager was sure to give him for however long this lasted.

"Ya know it, kiddo," Tony tells him with a grin, grabbing his arm and beginning to tug him off the school property.

"Wait, how'd you even know where my school is?" Peter asks him curiously and letting himself be dragged off to who knows where.

"I'm a genius, remember?" Peter gave him a look and Tony chuckled. "Okay fine, I had FRIDAY give me your address. So, Parker, what do you usually do on Fridays?"

"Um go home? Do homework, patrol or maybe go to Ned's."

"Ugh, you're boring. I've been in college since I was fourteen and I've been attending parties since then."

"Yeah well not all of us like to party, Stark. I'm taking you back to the tower, even if I have to use my webs to tie you up and take you there," Peter warns the other teen who turns to look at him with an amused look on his face.

"Hmm, kinky." Peter blushes at that and tries to glare at Tony who burst into loud giggles. "So Parker, how'd you get your powers anyway? Are you like Cap and volunteered for an experiment?" Tony asks as the two walk towards a local park as Peter shoots Happy a quick text asking to be picked up.

"Uh, got bit by a radioactive spider on accident." Tony stops walking and his face does a weird funny look that has Peter giggling. "Not what you expected, huh?"

"Definitely not. I have to be dreaming. This seriously can't be my life right now."

They arrive at the tower an hour later and are immediately greeted by Steve and Bucky in the communal floor, the two not looking happy at all. Peter sends Tony a 'you're so fucked' smile as he walks towards the kitchen and leaves his friend alone.

"Why do you smell like beer?" Peter hears Steve ask and he snickers as Tony grumbles something about Howard and 'you act more like my dad then my own dad'.

*

On day five at the tower, things with Steve are still tense and Tony tries his absolute best to keep away from the man. As much as the kid in him wants to meet and get to know the man who was his idol (for a short period of time before the resentment and fear settled in) for awhile, the reminders of what Howard always said prevent him from doing so.

It's late and everyone else had gone to bed hours ago (the rest of the team was finally back and it made Tony even more tense to be around so many strangers), so Tony had snuck back down to the communal floor where he sat in front of the TV and had FRIDAY put on _Full House_ since it was something he was familiar with.

"Tony?" Steve calls and Tony jumps a bit, turning to look at the blonde super soldier with wide eyes and Steve hates that there's a hint of fear in them, almost as if Tony expects to get in trouble for not being in his room. "Are you okay?"

"Just can't sleep. Peter says you're all familiar with my weird sleeping habits," Tony replies with a shrug as he turns his attention back to the TV where Uncle Jesse and Joey are trying to change Michelle's diaper for the first time.

"We are, just didn't know you'd become a night owl so early on in your life," Steve comments as he sits next to Tony who tenses a bit even though there's at least two feet of distance between them.

Tony huffs out a laugh but doesn't tell him that he's been like this since he can remember. Late nights working on homework, tinkering with something, hearing his parents argue night after night a few doors down. There was a long list of reasons why Tony Stark had stopped sleeping through the nights like a normal person should and went days without sleep. Especially when he started at MIT did sleep become the least I portante thing on his list of daily activities.

"Do you hate me?" Steve asks him when the first episode of the show ends.

"It's not hate, Cap. It's more that I grew up wanting to be like you until Howard decided I would never be worthy and that you would be disappointed to know that I'm Howard's son," Tony tells him softly, turning to look at Steve who purses his lips in thought. "I was five when I stopped wanting to be like you, when I stopped idolizing you and grew to fear you instead. Peter's told me that you and adult me are actually pretty close and I don't- I don't understand why, I guess. It makes me wary. No one's been my friend just because they wanted to be. Everyone always wants something and I guess I've just been trying to figure out why you'd want to be my friend."

"I've known you for four years now and I'll admit that the first year was tense and hard for us. We always fought when we were around each other, but the problem was that I was trying to see you as Howard and you were hearing his words in your head. Once we both stopped doing that, it was easy to grow close," Steve explains to him with a small sigh at the end and a small fond smile as he looks down at his lap. "Howard's always been wrong about one thing in particular, I've never not been proud of you, Tony. Sure you've made some stupid choices here and there, but you always fix your messes and I've always been there to help you because that's what friends do. We have each other's backs." Tony stays quiet and stares at the TV while refusing to let his eyes water with tears he wants to so desperately release. "And I know that this whole thing isn't easy for you right now, but just know that you can come talk to me because I can relate to you. I'm nearly a whole century old and even though I've been around for a few years, it's still hard for me."

"Do you miss adult me?"

"I do because out of everyone else on this team and aside from Bucky, he's also my best friend and he helped me settle into this new world I'm living in, but you're a cool kid, Tony and getting to know you at this age has been great. Even if you're a much bigger brat than adult you," Steve jokes and it actually makes Tony laugh wholeheartedly. He even throws his head back.

"You're not so bad, Rogers. I guess that getting to know you as Steve and not Captain America first has helped me realize that I've got nothing to really worry about here," Tony tells him once his laughter has died down and he smiles genuinely over at Steve who returns it with a much bigger smile of his own. "Just don't call me kid."

"Whatever you say, kid."

In the morning when the team starts to walk in ready to eat breakfast, they smile at the sight of Tony and Steve fast asleep on the couch with Tony's head on Steve's lap and one of the super soldier's arms around the teen in a protective manner.

"Aww, look at how cute they are," Clint coos. "FRIDAY, take a picture and send it to my phone please."

"Done," FRIDAY chimes in with something like amusement in her voice.

"Come on, let them sleep," Natasha tells the archer as she drags him towards the kitchen after the rest of the team.

*

"So I heard you and Steve solved your shit," Peter starts the conversation as he works on his homework and Tony lounges on Peter's bed and fiddles with his web shooters.

"Ugh, did Barton send you that picture?" Tony asks in exasperation though Peter realizes that it also comes out sounding a little fond and he feels better knowing Tony has started to settle in well with the team after nearly two weeks. "He got it framed now and placed it on the communal floor."

"It's a cute pic. So you like him now?" Peter looks over to his friend just in time to see Tony blush and he starts to laugh in delight. "Oh my gosh! You're crushing on him! No way! I always knew you had a thing for Steve."

"Shut up," Tony mumbles, feeling embarrassed as he grabs a pillow and chucks it at Peter who catches it easily. Tony sometimes really hates Peter's fast reflexes because it makes wanting to hit him difficult. "I am not crushing on, Cap."

"You know how many times I've heard adult you tell me that? Like a lot and I've only known you for half a year."

"You suck, Parker."

"Nah, I'll leave that to you."

Tony's face turned more red, but the feeling of satisfaction that he got when he managed to shoot Peter with the webs and stick him to his chair was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Endgame spoilers in the comments, please. Be respectful in case anyone hasn't seen the movie yet #DontSpoilTheEndgame. We can discuss things more openly in a few weeks to give people the chance to see it :)
> 
> I saw it Thursday night and I've been bursting into tears at random points throughout my day since. Literally woke up in the middle of the night on Thursday and started crying. I fucking loved the movie, it was funny and all the characters were amazing and it was heartbreaking but I'm satisfied with how they wrapped up the past 11 years.
> 
> Also, would you guys like a part 2 for this chapter? I was also thinking about making a short story (no more than 10 chapters) about this with HYDRA being a pain in the ass and more Peter&Tony friendship. Yay or nay??


	26. Extras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just little extras that weren't long enough to be their own chapters, so basically you're getting like eight chapters in one
> 
> Each title in bold means a new little drabble/blurb/one shot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** FUCK GENDER ROLES, mention of Lady Loki

**"Mr Independent"**

"Alright, kid, time to get dressed," Bucky tells Tony as he walks towards the dresser in Tony's room and opens the middle drawer where the kid's shirts are.

Meanwhile the kid is rubbing at his eyes tiredly after having been rudely woken up by Bucky. He frowns as he watches Bucky search through his shirts.

"I wanna dress myself!" Tony whines as he hops off the bed and heads over to Bucky who looks down at him with a frown on his face. "I wanna do it! I'm a big boy!"

"Are ya sure, kid?"

"I can and I will!"

Bucky chuckles and says, "Alright. I'll wait out there if you need any help, okay?"

Tony only huffed and mumbled that he didn't need help, so Bucky left the room with one final look at the kid. Tony grabbed the first shirt he found and then went in search of some pants. Soon he was completely dressed, minus shoes because he can't be bothered with those and stares at himself through the full length mirror in the room and grins. It wasn't so hard, Bucky's silly.

"Bucky! I'm done!" Tony shouts as he walks down the hall and finds Bucky, Lolo, Steve, Clint and Rhodey in the kitchen with cups of coffee, which he pouts at because he really wants coffee. Clint gave him some once, but then Bucky and Steve found out and they weren't happy and explained to Tony that it was a big people drink.

"Oh my gosh," Clint snorted out a laugh as he took a look at Tony who glared at him.

"What?" Tony demanded when he saw them all trying not to laugh, even his Lolo who didn't find many things amusing.

Tony was dressed in a blue plaid button down shirt with the buttons all done unevenly and stripped yellow pajama pants that were on backwards. Even his socks were mismatched, on his left foot he had an Elsa from Frozen sock and on the right he had on a Lightning McQueen from Cars sock on.

"FRIDAY, take a picture, will ya? And send it to the rest of the team," Clint told the AI in between chuckles and Tony only glared at the archer. "Oh, this is going to be sweet blackmail material."

"Knock it off," Steve scolded Clint once he noticed that Tony's eyes were filling up with tears. "You did a great job, buddy, but why don't I help you fix your shirt and pants?"

Tony looks down at himself with a pout but agrees and reaches out for Steve who scoops him up into his arms and takes him back down the hall to his room.

"Honestly? The kid ain't far off from what Tony would usually wear after going days without sleeping," Rhodey comments and it sends Clint off into another round of giggles.

~ ~ ~ / / ~ ~ ~

**"Pretty Hair"**

Tony huffed out in frustration as he reached a hand up to brush his bangs away from his face yet again. The child was coloring in a Disney Princess book at the coffee table, but his hair kept getting in the way.

"Looks like someone needs a haircut," Natasha comments as she watches the child keep pushing away his hair in frustration.

"Yeah, his hair's getting pretty long and he doesn't like it when I brush it after bath time because it hurts," Bucky tells her with a roll of his eyes. "Kid, come here."

Tony looked up from coloring princess Ariel and headed over to Bucky who pulled him up onto his lap and then pulled a hair tie out from somewhere. No one was ever sure where he kept them, but he always seemed to carry more than one which Wanda and Natasha were always thankful for and on the one occasion, Pepper.

"What're you doin'?" Tony asks as he eyes the hair tie wearily.

"Gonna put your hair up so you can color better without it getting in your face," Bucky explained as he pulled back Tony's hair and began to comb through the strands with his fingers and then tied the pink hair tie around the small bun he'd managed to make.

"He really does need a haircut if it's long enough to be able to do that," Natasha says with a smirk on her face.

"I don't want a haircut!" Tony cried out. "I like my hair!"

"But don't you want it off your face, kid? It'll be much better when you can play without it bothering you all the time," Bucky suggests to Tony in a calm voice, not wanting to upset him more than he already was.

"No." Tony sniffled. "I wanna be like you and Lolo and have long pretty hair."

"Adorable," Natasha mumbles softly, a smile on her face as she watches Bucky go from determined to convince him to get a haircut to touched that the kid wants his hair like his and Loki's.

"You want to have your hair be like Loki's and mine? Alright, kid."

Tony smiled brightly at Bucky who leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.

~ ~ ~ / / ~ ~ ~

**"Disgusting Creatures"**

It was a bit rare for Bucky and Loki to leave the tower nowadays, but with Tony having had extra energy that he needed to burn off and having a dog in need of a walk, they decided to take the kid and Brownie out hoping the two could tire themselves out and take an extra long nap when they returned to the tower.

They go to the park where the two adults sit on a bench and watch the kid run off towards the play area where a few other kids were playing and Brownie happily runs after her human. Tony was still refusing a haircut, so the two could only imagine the amount of sand, leaves, grass and other things they'd find during bath time.

"So Lokes, how was Asgard?" Bucky asks the mage who'd just returned from visiting his family a day ago, leaning back on the bench and placing an arm to rest behind Loki who rolled his eyes at the action but never once stopped reading his book.

"As usual conversations revolved around my brother and the mortal he's seeing, if it were my decision I would not return again, but it is a condition to me being here so," Loki told Bucky with a slight shrug and the metal armed soldier sighed softly knowing perfectly well how bad Loki and his parents still got along. "Although mother did express a desire in knowing more about Anthony."

"Huh, so they know he's a kid?"

"Thor told them."

It falls quiet between the two. Loki goes back to reading, though leaning more into Bucky's side and Bucky keeps an eye out on the kid and making sure that there was no danger around.

"Look what I found!" Tony shouts as he runs towards them excitedly with a caterpillar in his hand and Loki grimaces at the sight of it. Brownie barks in excitement as well, her small tail wagging back and forth.

"Disgusting," the god mumbles while Bucky looks impressed.

"Do you know what that's called?" Bucky asks Tony with a smile, watching as the kid looks down at the thing on his hand with a thoughtful expression. "We read that one book at bedtime the other night about a hungry-"

"Caterpillar!" Tony shouts.

"Good job, kid."

Tony beams up at him happily, the caterpillar still in his hand and Loki still looking disgusted by it.

"Oh come on, Lo, you can fight giant mutated sewer monsters, but a caterpillar disgusts you?" Bucky asks his best friend, and crush (possibly love of his life, not that Bucky will admit it), in a teasing manner and Tony giggles as he brings the thing closer to Loki who scoots down the bench to get away from it.

"It is disgusting. All creatures like that are absolutely vile and should cease to exist," Loki tells them, glaring at Tony when he starts getting too close again. Bucky simply laughs but does nothing to stop Tony from traumatizing the prince.

~ ~ ~ / / ~ ~ ~

**"It's Anthony, Not Antonia"**

The first time it happens, they find it funny. Tony laughs hysterically while Bucky politely corrects the person and Loki simply looks ready to murder someone, which is usually his default emotion. The three of them are out eating pizza at a quiet little shop in Brooklyn when an old lady walks up to them and says that they have an adorable little girl. Granted, it doesn't help that Tony's hair is nearly long enough to touch his shoulders and he's wearing a light blue colored Frozen shirt, but still.

"Your daughter is absolutely the cutest thing I've ever seen," she says with a large smile and Tony giggles into his pizza.

"Oh um, this is our son, ma'am," Bucky corrects her and Loki looks up at the old lady like he wants to stick his knives in her eyes.

"Oh I'm so sorry! Either way, he's so adorable and I'm happy for the two of ya," says the old lady before she walks away and Loki huffs. Tony's still giggling, not even the slightest bit offended.

It happens a second and third time and Tony's still able to laugh it off, though it's less funny by the third time and by the fifth time it happens, he bursts into tears because Clint had been there and made it a joke and started calling him Antonia and Tony wants to be an Anthony not Antonia. So when they get home after having spent some time out, Tony starts to shove all of his girl things into a box and demands that he get a haircut.

"Alright, lets have a little chat, kid," Bucky says as he picks up Tony, who's wearing a t-shirt with a fire truck on it instead of Ariel or Frozen even though he's not a fan of fire trucks, and sits him on his lap after Bucky sits on Tony's bed. "What's got ya so upset?"

"I don't wanna be a girl!" Tony wails, eyes filling up with tears quickly.

"We know you're not a girl and just because a few people think you are, doesn't mean it's true. If you like pink instead of blue, it shouldn't matter. Some people still think that dolls should be for girls only and cars for boys, but truthfully, I don't get why it's such a big deal if you like to play with both. You know how Loki talked to you about how he also likes girl things somedays? That doesn't make him a girl, does it?" Bucky asked, referring to Loki being gender fluid. That'd been an interesting conversation when one day Tony had found Lady Loki sitting at the table eating breakfast. She didn't make an appearance often, much to Bucky's dismay (though he loves, ahem, likes both Lokis very much).

"Bu' that's different," Tony says softly, a tear rolling down his cheek and Bucky quickly wipes it away.

"True, but it doesn't make him any less Loki, does it? He or she are still the same person, they just like different things. And so what if you're not Antonia, you can still like Ariel and wanna be a princess even if you're Anthony. We still love you the same, kid," Bucky tells him in a firm yet gentle tone, hoping to cheer up the kid.

Adult Tony was very insecure, Bucky had learned. It was amazing and terrifying how different he could be behind the camera to in front of the cameras. They'd all learned ways to reassure him and build up his self-esteem, but the guy literally thought it over and over before giving them upgrades and such. Having the kid go through the same issues was just twice as heartbreaking.

"Okay, but I still want a haircut 'cause I get hot."

Bucky chuckled and pressed a kiss to Tony's forehead.

~ ~ ~ / / ~ ~ ~

**"Prince(ss)"**

"I want that," Tony says as he points up at a set of My Little Pony toys, tugging on Bucky's shirt to get his attention. "Please."

"Kid, you already have a lot of toys-" Bucky stopped himself from saying more when he noticed Tony's big brown eyes looking up at him sadly. "Alright, fine."

Tony smiles wide and hugs the box to his chest once Bucky hands it to him while the man sighs and continues pushing the shopping cart with Tony following after him happily staring at his ponies. Shopping with Tony was always an adventure, so when they had to go out and do some shopping, they'd leave the kid at home and not mention anything, but this time Bucky had wanted to take him out to distract him. It'd been raining all day and Tony was bored and had been starting to piss everyone off with his constant whining. And going out with Tony meant leaving the store with new toys. No matter how determined they were to say no.

"I want that!" Tony exclaimed a few minutes later when they were walking past the children's clothes section and he pointed at an Ariel from The Little Mermaid t-shirt. "Please Bucky! I want it! I want it!"

"Kid-"

"It's Ariel, please!"

Bucky looked upwards in a 'please give me strength' kind of way but he caved in anyway and headed over with the kid to grab the blue colored Little Mermaid shirt.

"Oh, I'm guessing your daughter loves Ariel?" A lady in her late forties asked Bucky with a smile as she eyed the t-shirt and then Tony.

"My _son_ loves Ariel," Bucky corrected her as he grabbed the shirt in Tony's size, looking up just in time to see the woman's face go from happy to something like disgust as she looked down at Tony who was looking more and more upset the longer the interaction went on. "And gender shouldn't matter, because if my son wants to wear a damn Disney Princess shirt, then he will. It's really none of your business how I'm raisin' my kid."

Bucky placed the shirt in the cart and then picked up Tony and began to walk away from the woman who scoffed and mumbled something under her breath that made Bucky want to go back and punch her.

"Is it bad?" Tony asks him later that day once they're home and he's curled up on the couch with the kid while Loki grabs some snacks from the kitchen to join them for a movie marathon. Disney of course.

"Is what bad, kiddo?" Bucky asks with a frown as he looks down at Tony who still looks pretty upset after the encounter with that lady.

"Is liking princesses bad 'cause I'm a boy?"

"Of course it's not bad, kid. You can like anythin' you want, it's just that some people are still stuck with that mentality that boys should only like to play with cars and girls with dolls. But if you want to be a princess tomorrow, then that's fine by me. Girls can also be superheroes, like Nat and Wanda and you remember Carol, right? Rhodey's girlfriend?" Tony nodded, but he looked much happier now. "You can be anythin' you want and we won't care, alright? Just be you and keep likin' all the things that make you happy. And we've talked about this plenty of times, it shouldn't matter what others think 'bout what you like."

"Okay," Tony mumbles quietly as he snuggles more into Bucky with a content smile.

Loki walks over to them with a bowl of popcorn and sits on Tony's other side with a soft smile directed at both his boys who'd smiled up at him as soon as he walked into the room.

~ ~ ~ / / ~ ~ ~

(part of an unfinished 5+1 Valentines Day thing)

1)

"Do you want a kiss?" Tony asked Wanda as he walked over to her with his hands behind his back and a sweet innocent smile on his face.

"A kiss?" She asks, wondering if she heard correctly because the kid never just asks, he gives.

"Yeah, do you want a kiss? 'Cause it's Val-Val-tine's Day an' Stevie says it's a day all about love and friendship!" Tony explains as he walks further into the kitchen where the young woman had been reading a recipe in a cook book.

"Valentine's Day, sweetie, and sure, I'll have a kiss."

"Okay."

Tony walks over to her until he's standing next to her and Wanda kneels down to be at his level, a soft smile on her face as she waits for the kid to make the next move. Tony's grin widens as he moves his hands, which are clenched into fists, in front of him and opens the right hand palm up to reveal a Hershey Kiss in a pink wrapper.

"Here's your kiss!" Tony exclaims in between giggles as he holds up the piece of chocolate to Wanda who takes a second to react before she, too, starts giggling right along with the kid.

"Thank you, Tony. I love kisses," she says, playing along with the kid who's still laughing as she takes the piece of chocolate from Tony's hand. "How about I give you a real one?"

Before Tony can say anything, Wanda leans forward until she presses her lips to Tony's soft chubby cheek. Pulling back, Wanda stifles her giggles at the blush spreading over the four year old's cheeks before he runs out the kitchen.

2)

"Do you want a kiss?" Tony asks Natasha next, half an hour after Wanda, making sure to use his extra cute voice and expression because Nat can be a hard one to crack some days.

"How about three?" She asks him instead, pointing to her left cheek once and her right cheek twice and Tony huffs and rolls his eyes.

"One, Natasha," he insists. "I said a kiss, not kisses."

"Three."

"Two, take it or leave it, sister," Tony tells her and Natasha holds back her laugh as she agrees. "Well get down here, I'm not tall enough."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she says before getting down on one knee and he goes to kiss her cheek, but instead of his lips hitting her skin, something that feels like a wrapper hits her skin; once on her left and once on her right. "What's that?"

"Your kisses," Tony tells her smugly as he shows her the two pieces of Hershey kisses now up for display on the palms of his hands.

"Did Clint put you up to this?" Natasha wonders as she takes the pieces of chocolate and Tony shrugs, but the look on his face gives it away.

"I only said a kiss, I didn't say what kind."

Tony walks away laughing and Natasha heads off to find Clint.

3)

Tony's next victim is Steve. The four year old finds the blonde super soldier walking out of the laundry room in their floor with a basket of clothes.

"Hi, mo stoirín. What are you up to?" Steve asks, smiling fondly down at the child who wrinkles his nose at the affectionate Irish name Steve's given him. "I hope it's nothing bad, Tones, you've been playing one too many pranks lately."

"Do you want a kiss?" Tony asks him sweetly, tilting his head to the side and smiling up at Steve who chuckled in amusement. "It's Val-tine's Day! You said it's day for lots of kissies!"

"You're right and you know I can never say no to you, buddy."

"Here!"

Steve simply stares at Tony's hand where a single piece of Hershey Kiss sat there for him and it all made sense for him now. He got played by the child.

"You little trouble maker!" Steve says before he sets his basket down and starts to chase Tony around their floor, the child shrieking and trying to find a place to hide, but eventually Steve catches up to him and picks him up only to cover his face in kisses of his own.

~ ~ ~ / / ~ ~ ~

**"Future Wedding"**

Tony walked out of his room and down the hall, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He always tried hard to skip nap time, but he always got so sleepy after lunch. Sometimes he falls asleep at the kitchen table before finishing his food and wakes up in his room.

Tony walks into the living room where the TV is playing softly and Steve is sitting on the couch though he's not really watching it. He looks a little sad and it makes Tony pout as he walks over to the supersoldier.

"Steve?" Tony calls as he gets up on the couch and sits next to the man.

"Oh, hey Tony. Have a nice nap?" Steve asks the child as he gives him a small smile.

"Are you sad? Cause Thor said everyone gets sad sometimes, even him."

Steve chuckles and says, "Just a little. Sharon's not my girlfriend anymore."

"But why? Is it cause you live far and and don't see each other a lot?" Tony asks him curiously as he moves to sit on Steve's lap to cuddle into the man.

"Yeah and our jobs don't let us spend much time together either," Steve explains as he wraps his arms around the four year old.

"That's okay. I'll be your boyfriend and we can get married when I'm bigger."

Steve laughs and places a kiss to Tony's forehead.

"I'll hold you to that promise, buddy."

"There's gotta be chocolate cake, though. And lots of pretty flowers," Tony tells him in a serious tone, eyes narrowed and it only causes Steve to laugh harder and throw his head back as he does.

The elevator doors open and Bucky steps out and walks over to them.

"What's so funny?" Bucky asks as he takes Tony from Steve and kisses the child's head.

"Steve and I are gonna get married when I'm older, but for now he's my boyfriend," Tony explains as he cups Bucky's face in his small hands.

Bucky snorts in amusement before saying, "I can't wait for that day."

Steve blushes bright red at that and Tony remains oblivious to it all as he keeps squishing and stroking Bucky's cheeks.

~ ~ ~ / / ~ ~ ~

**"Thor Otison"**

"Uncle Thor! Uncle Thor look!" Tony shouted as he ran towards the blonde god with his favorite red blanket tied around his neck like a cape and a toy replica of Thor's hammer in one hand.

Thor, who was sitting on the couch watching Clint and Sam play Mario Kart, turned around when he heard his name being called. Tony ran into the room and stood up on the coffee table with his hammer up in Thor's familiar pose. Thor laughed in delight as Clint paused the video game as they too stared at the four year old.

"I am Thor, son of Otis!" Tony shouted as he lifted his hammer up higher while Clint and Sam burst out laughing.

"O-Otis!" Clint wheezed out and Tony remained unbothered by their laughter. He only wanted to impress his uncle Thor.

"Tis a most pleasant surprise, young one!" Thor told him.

Bucky walked in, took one look at Tony and picked him up. "We don't stand on the furniture, kiddo."

"Oops." Tony giggled and made grabby hands at Thor who took the child from Bucky.

"Do you like it, Uncle Thor?"

"Aye! Tis quite a lovely surprise, Anthony. You're dressed like a fine warrior!" Thor told him, lifting Tony up over his head and making the child squeal in delight.

"Only 'cause he's dressed like you. Make him dress like me and see if you say the same thing," Clint told Thor with a huff as him and Sam resumed their game.

"You're just jealous cause Tones doesn't like Hawkeye," Bucky teased the archer as he sat on the couch next to Thor.

"Burn," Sam said in between chuckles, eyes glued to the screen.

Tony simply giggled and stuck his tongue out at Clint who glared playfully at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's gonna be May!!! No seriously, it's gonna be May and I still have to turn on the heat at my house because it's still pretty cold ;-;
> 
> It's been like 5 days since I saw Endgame and I'm still feeling empty, like I can't explain it? But it almost feels like I don't have a soul anymore, lol


	27. Have You Seen My Papa?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We found him, Lokes. We're bringing him home," Steve tells him, the exhaustion and relief evident in his voice and Loki has to sit because his legs feel like jelly and like the wind's been knocked out of him.

"Bucky's missing," Steve tells Loki in a soft tone, blue eyes filled with exhaustion and fading bruises scattered over his face.

"What?" Loki asked, feeling like someone had ripped a rug from under his feet. He felt unsteady and his heart was hammering in his chest. "Missing? Why? I thought he was with you and Romanov." Fear and anger gripped at every inch of him, but he had to remain calm because Anthony was going to need him now more than ever.

"H-He was, but we all got separated. We got ambushed, Loki, and we've spent the past three days searching for Bucky, but Nat and I decided to come back and get the rest of the team and inform SHIELD and then head back."

"Alright. Just keep me informed and I will stay here with Anthony, maybe see if I can work from here."

Steve nodded and gave Loki a small sad smile, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze before walking away. Suddenly a pair of tiny arms wrap around the prince's legs and Loki looks down to find Anthony looking up at him with tears running down his cheeks. He heard everything.

"Papa's missing?" Tony asks quietly, a whimper escaping his lips and Loki picks up the child and holds him close.

"They will find him, Anthony. And do not worry, James knows how to take care of himself," Loki tries to sound reassuring even though he was frightened to think that maybe HYDRA had gotten their hands on him again. "We will have him back soon, little one. I promise."

Tony began to cry quietly into his neck and it tore at Loki's heartstrings. He didn't know what to do, he wasn't good at comforting the child. That had always been James' job and Loki was always left in awe at how quickly the man could comfort Anthony and get him smiling again. Loki had never gotten the chance to do this with his own children so he had no experience, but he thought back to what his mother used to do to calm him or Thor down when they were children. So he began to sing while rocking the child.

His brother walked in some time later fully dressed in his armor, looking worried and a bit angry himself. Loki knew he could always count on his brother, even if their relationship had been rocky for centuries now, but they were trying to go back to the best of friends they'd been as kids even if they've both hurt each other a lot over the years.

"Brother, we are preparing to leave soon," Thor informs Loki who nods, having stopped his singing but still swaying slightly from side to side even though Tony was no longer crying now and was probably fast asleep. "I promise you brother, we will find him and bring him back home."

"I know you will, just please, do it soon. I-I do not want anything bad happening to James," Loki says quietly and he feels pretty close to crying even though it's been an awfully long time since he's done so. Especially in front of his brother.

"No worries."

Thor left after running a hand through Anthony's dark hair gently and one last reassuring glance at his brother. Loki sat on the couch in the communal floor feeling exhausted and the child held firmly to his chest.

"Loki," Natasha called and the prince was startled to find her kneeling in front of him. She was staring at him worriedly, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. "Get Tony to bed and try getting some rest yourself, we don't know how long this can take and we'll keep you updated as much as we can. If we have to go out of range, we'll let FRIDAY know so she can tell you."

"Alright. I will try my best from here as well," Loki tells her and Natasha smiles softly before standing up.

Once the team is gone, Loki heads up to his floor and takes Anthony with him to his bedroom.

*

It takes twelve hours for the team to get into contact and by then, Peter's at the tower helping Loki distract a sad and clingy Tony as best he can. Loki's tried using some spells to locate James, but he hasn't been lucky and unfortunately the call doesn't bring any type of good news at all.

Three days and still nothing. Loki isn't sure what to do. Anthony has been sleeping with him (if you can call waking up every two or so hours crying for Bucky sleeping) and he's still refusing to eat and go to daycare. Brownie sits sadly beside her human, sometimes with her head on his lap and sometimes just curled into Tony. Peter is in school but visits after and May's also stopped by once to give Loki a small break. He hasn't gotten a single update and as much as he hates to admit it, the chances of HYDRA having taken Bucky again are starting to grow more and more each passing day.

On day seven, he finally gets a call. It's Steve and he sounds exhausted and Loki wonders if he sounds as exhausted as Loki himself feels. Loki hasn't slept a wink in the past two days and neither has Anthony who spends his days crying now. The one time he had slept, he'd woken up screaming from a nightmare. James had died in it.

"We found him, Lokes. We're bringing him home," Steve tells him, the exhaustion and relief evident in his voice and Loki has to sit because his legs feel like jelly and like the wind's been knocked out of him.

"H-How is he?" Loki asks him, afraid to know the answer but at the same time needing to know if he was hurt in anyway. "Please Steve. I need to know."

"A few minor injuries, but he'll be good after a day or two in medical and a few more resting. He's going to be fine, Loki," Steve reassures him and Loki lets out a relieved sigh as he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He finally felt like he could breath, if only slightly better for right now. He wouldn't be completely at ease until he could see James for himself. "We're heading to the compound, it's where Dr Cho is meeting us. ETA of ten minutes."

"Thank you, Steve."

Once he hangs up the phone, he goes over to the living room where Anthony's curled up on the couch with his favorite red blanket, Mister Snuggles and Ducky, the duck plushy James and he had given the child for Easter. Brownie is curled up on the floor in front of her owner, eyes closed but Loki knew she wasn't asleep. The child looked up when Loki walked over to him, dark circles under his eyes and face pale. His cheeks had lost their usual soft rosy color and the sparkle was gone from his eyes.

"Anthony, papa's coming home," Loki tells him softly, running a hand through the messy and slightly greasy hair.

"Papa?!" Anthony called happily as he sat up with wide eyes and a smile slowly stretching out across his face.

"Yes, but we will have to go meet him at the compound and you will not be able to see him right away," Loki informs the child whose smile slips quickly and he frowns. "We need to let the doctor do her work but once she says that we can see him, we will be the first ones in there, alright?"

Anthony looks like he wants to protest and frankly, Loki doesn't want to wait another hour or so to be able to see James, but they need to make sure he is alright first.

Loki uses his magic to transport the two (plus Anthony's plushies and blanket) to the compound where the two wait in the small waiting area of the medical wing until the others appear, Steve and Sam helping the nurses push the gurney James lays on unconscious towards a room with Dr Cho running after with a StarkPad in hand. Loki manages to wrap his arms around Anthony who'd gotten up from his seat ready to run after them, wincing as the child starts to scream and cry again.

Immediately, Natasha picks him up and Loki sends her a relieved look as Thor sits beside him. Steve and Sam walk back into the room and look sadly at the child who's still crying and reaching with one tiny hand in the direction that they'd taken James in.

"Where did you find him?" Loki hears himself ask, gaze locked on the obnoxiously clean floor.

"Small town in Spain, of all places," Sam tells him with a slight huff of amusement and Loki's lips twitch upwards in a smile. "Pretty sure the town was in the middle of some festival and Bucky just wanted to party."

"Aye! T'was a very marvelous town with great festivities," Thor agrees and Natasha rolls her eyes.

"Too bad we didn't get enough time to get ya some souvenirs, Lokes. At least a postcard with a 'Wish You Were Here!' on the front," Clint joins in on the teasing, managing to lift the mood in the room as Wanda giggles quietly and Steve shakes his head fondly.

"We still don't know what happened, but we're hoping he'll be able to tell us once he's more awake," Steve says as he goes over to Natasha and takes Tony from her, burying his nose in the dark thick curls of the child's head. "How are you and Tony? You both look awful."

"It has been rough. The child has not slept in two days and refuses to eat. All he does is cry and frankly, I am quite worried," Loki informs the team as he looks at Anthony with a sad gaze. "I can tell that he has lost some weight."

"He has," Natasha agrees as she sits on a couch with Clint and Wanda. "Maybe Dr Cho can give him a routine checkup to make sure he doesn't need an IV for the nutrients he's lost."

Tony doesn't fall asleep, though he comes pretty close to doing so. He does stop crying and simply lays against Steve's chest sniffling every few seconds. They all sit in silence until the doctor walks over to them nearly two hours later. She looks at them all with a soft expression that makes them all breath a little better.

"Bucky is alright. Nothing serious. We've got him hooked up to an IV and we want to monitor him for the rest of the night. Just minor bruising that's already healing quickly thanks to the serum," Dr Cho tells the team who all release the breath they were holding. "You may see him, but not for too long. He needs his rest."

"Loki, you and Tony go see him first," says Steve as he walks over to Loki who'd stood up when the doctor walked to them. "He's definitely going crazy without you two right now."

"Alright," Loki agrees as he takes Anthony from the Captain and begins to follow the doctor to where they have James.

The man is laying awake in bed, hooked to a few machines and looking pretty well considering the circumstances. He looks up as soon as Loki enters the room, lips stretching into a wide smile and Loki quickly walks over.

"There are my boys," James says in a hoarse voice and Tony immediately lifts his head from where he'd tucked it into Loki's neck, smile matching James' as he reaches for the super soldier as he chokes back a sob. "Hey. No tears, kiddo. I'm right here."

Loki sets Anthony down next to James once the man tells him that it's okay and watches the way the two cling to each other, not noticing the tears falling down his own face. Anthony's crying and calling out 'papa' over and over again almost as if he couldn't believe that his papa was really here.

"Lo, come 'ere, doll," James stretched out his free arm towards Loki who walked over to his free side and grabbed the man's hand.

"Next time you pull something like this again I will send you straight down to Hela," Loki warns James who laughs and tugs at the mage's hand until Loki's laying next to him on his side.

"I'll keep that in mind." James smirks as he stares into Loki's eyes, bringing his hand (the one not holding onto Tony who's sniffling quietly as he watches the two) to wipe away Loki's tears.

Deciding that it was now or never, Loki closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against James' in a soft and hesitant kiss. James responds eagerly and moves his hand that had been cupping Loki's cheek to the back of the prince's neck to pull him in closer. Everything about it is awkward, from the way that Loki's laying on the bed to the way James has to be careful to not tug on his IV, so as far as first kisses go, he'll stay with the way James' lips feel on his and the way the kiss makes him feel on the inside. It makes him forget where they are, why they're there and who they're with until a small giggle makes them pull away and brings them back to reality.

"Tell me why we waited this long to do that?" James questioned the prince with a dopey smile on his face and the other hand that wasn't cupping the back of Loki's neck was covering Anthony's eyes.

"Perhaps you had not been worthy of my affection," Loki teases him and James laughed as he pecked Loki's lips and uncovered the four year old's eyes.

"Then maybe I should go missing more often."

"I will stab you."

"Your mama's silly, kiddo," James tells the child as he looks down at him with a fond look.

"I know, but I love mama. He's the bestest," Anthony says as he looks up at Loki with half lidded eyes and a smile as he snuggles into James' side.

"He really is," James agrees as he looks over at the mage who rolls his eyes even though he could feel the heat on his cheeks and a lump of emotions building in his throat that he tried to swallow.

After that, to the rest of the team, it's easy to see that something has changed between Loki and Bucky. They share more heart eyes than usual and Tony giggles in a knowing way anytime he stares at the two. And not to mention the fact that not only does Tony sleep with Bucky, but Loki does as well. Steve figures this out one morning when he's walking out of his room after showering from his morning run and sees Loki, in sleep clothes and a sleepy Tony clinging to him, leave Bucky's room, he too equally sleepy.

No one says anything. They know that Bucky and Loki will tell them when they're ready, but they're happy that things seem to be moving forward between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so Loki/Bucky finally happened
> 
> I ran out of my allergy meds and I honestly can't be fucked with that right now even though my allergies are at an all time high right now.
> 
> Also, Mother's Day chapter next weekend courtesy of a prompt I received so (side eye emoji)


	28. Mother's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Miss Karen says that Mother's Day is soon and that we're gonna make something pretty for our mommies," Tony began to explain and Bucky knew where this would be going...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For **dmarcela13** who suggested this Mother's Day prompt
> 
> Also this one takes place a few days after the last chapter :)

"How was daycare?" Bucky asks the four year old as they walk out of the classroom and head towards the private elevator they use. It was Tony's first day back after everything that had happened with Bucky having gone missing and then being a clingy little boy.

"Had lots of fun! We went to the park and Katy and I played tag!" Tony told him excitedly, practically vibrating from today's excitement.

"Well that's a lot of fun for one day. You must be tired."

"Nope."

Bucky chuckled and once the doors opened, they stepped on the elevator with Tony humming happily as FRIDAY took them up to Bucky's floor.

"Papa?" Tony called as he tugged on the super soldier's shirt to get his attention.

"What's up, kid?" Bucky asks him, not even fazed with the fact that Tony was calling him papa outside of the daycare. They'd noticed that the kid was starting to slip more and more and it would definitely make things a lot harder the longer he spent as a kid.

"Miss Karen says that Mother's Day is soon and that we're gonna make something pretty for our mommies," Tony began to explain and Bucky knew where this would be going, "but since I don't have a mommy, can I make something pretty for Lolo?"

"I'm sure Lolo will love it, kid."

Tony smiles up at him happily and then went back to his humming as the doors opened on their floor. Steve greeted them with a smile and a small bowl of grapes for Tony who cheered and went over to greet the blonde.

"Hi Stevie!" Tony greets him as he runs over to hug the man who kisses the child's head.

"Hey kiddo. Have a fun day?" Steve asked as he picked up the child and offered him the bowl of grapes.

Bucky left the room as Tony started to tell his story again about all the fun things he did at daycare.

*

On the Friday before Mother's Day, Bucky picks up Tony from daycare on his own. It's been a thing that Loki and himself pick up Tony and then the three go out and eat dinner, but this time Loki's away on a mission with Natasha, Sam and Clint. Bucky just hoped that they would return before Mother's Day ended.

"Papa! Hi!" Tony greeted his 'dad' from his spot at his usual table, his hands covered in green and black paint.

"Hey, kid. Looks like you're having fun," Bucky says as he walks over to the kid, greeting Karen with a smile as she's helping Tony clean up his area. "What's all this?"

"It's for mama. I made pretty flowers with my hands," Tony explains proudly and Bucky chuckles fondly at the four, nearly five, year old. And boy was that a whole new problem. With Tony's birthday coming up, they weren't sure if they would be celebrating his fifth birthday or his adult self's birthday.

"Well I'm sure mama's gonna love it, kid, but let's get ya cleaned up so we can go pick up Peter and go eat."

"Peter!"

Karen chuckled as she placed Tony's drying Mother's Day card on the table. On the card were four Tony sized handprints in four different colors; green, black, gold and silver with green stems and at the top in messy handwriting was 'Happy Mother's Day Mama!'. Bucky was sure that Loki was going to love it, seeing as the mage loved anything that the child made for him. Like that drawing of Brownie with five legs that Tony had drawn for him though the kid's argument had been _"That's not a leg! It's her tail!"_ Either way, Loki had pinned it to a wall in his room.

"You think mama will like it?" Tony asked Bucky as they head towards Queens after dropping off Tony's backpack and card in his room and getting Happy to drive them.

"I'm sure he'll love it, Tones. You know Lolo loves everything you make him," Bucky reassured the child who nodded and snuggled into Bucky's side.

*

The team get back from their mission just before sunrise on Sunday and head off to bed.

Loki isn't a heavy sleeper, so he's woken up by the sound of his bedroom door opening and tiny feet making their way across his room and towards his bed. He keeps his eyes closed until Tony jumps on his bed and practically lands on top of him.

"Wake up, Lolo! We made breakfast and it's yummy!" Tony shouted excitedly as he jumps on the bed and Loki chuckles as he opens his eyes and sits up, looking at the child who's still in his pajamas and then over to Bucky who's walking into the room with a tray filled with food.

"What's all this for?" Loki asks as Tony settles beside him with a giant grin as Bucky sets the tray down on the mage's lap.

"It's Mother's Day silly."

Loki glared up at Bucky who shrugged innocently as he sat on the bed.

"I realize what day it is, but how does it relate to me?" Loki asks the two, looking down at Tony when it becomes evident that Bucky's not going to answer.

"Because you're my mama, silly," Tony explains in 'duh, it's obvious' tone and Loki sighs and shakes his head but he doesn't let them know that the gesture fills him with warmth and happiness.

"Alright. Now, what have you made?"

Tony went on to explain that they made pancakes (Bucky did), cut up fruit in a bowl (Bucky did), made his favorite tea (Bucky did) and brought his favorite bagels (Bucky did). Technically all Tony did was help pour orange juice into the glass.

"Alright kid, your turn," Bucky tells Tony who flushes a little but quickly leaves the room to go get his card.

Loki frowned as he stared after Tony before looking up at Bucky who was smirking as he grabbed a piece of strawberry from the fruit bowl and ate it. The prince of Asgard narrowed his eyes at the man sitting in front of him but before he could say anything, Tony walked back in hiding something behind him. The child walked up to the bed looking shy and cheeks a dark shade of red as he avoided eye contact with Loki.

"What have you got there, little one?" Loki asked in a gentle tone as he moved the tray off to the side.

"I made it for you, mama," Tony says softly as he hands Loki the card he made at the daycare on Friday.

Loki, trying to hide his surprise, takes the card gently and smiles. It's simple and messy, but it's beautiful and it touches his heart to see those tiny handprints in the colors of his armor and the squiggly and messy handwriting at the top and it's all so touching for him that he actually tears up.

"Do you like it, mama?" Tony asks self consciously as he plays with his fingers in a nervous manner.

"I love it, Anthony," Loki says in a slightly choked up voice as he pulls the four year old onto his lap and hugs him tight. "Thank you very much, my child. You did an amazing job."

Tony giggles happily and gladly snuggles into Loki who presses a kiss to the top of his head before burying his face into the child's messy curls.

After a good cuddle, Tony heads off to find Brownie and Loki tears his gaze away from the card when he feels Bucky's gaze on him. The man in front of him looks amused yet fond and he's doing those heart eyes at Loki that everyone always teases him about but he doesn't care because he just saw the man he's in love with get emotional over something so simple.

"You mention anything that happened in this room and I will stab you, James," Loki threatens his boyfriend with a glare that on any other occasion would have made Bucky (and the Winter Soldier) shiver in fear, but it's got no affect on him now since Loki's green eyes are still filled with tears he's trying to hold back.

"Aww babe, don't be like that. It's sweet to know that you do have a heart and can actually cry," Bucky teases the prince who sighs and rolls his eyes before going back to staring at the card. "Seriously though, you okay, doll?"

"Perfect, actually. I know this whole situation with Anthony isn't a permanent thing and that maybe come tomorrow he will go back to normal, but I believe that I will always consider him as one of my own children from now on. He means a lot to me, has meant a lot to me since the day Thor decided to bring me here and Anthony accepted me with open arms as if I had not thrown him out the window and nearly destroyed a whole city," Loki explains as a tear finally manages to roll down his cheek and Bucky moves to sit next to him. "He's been someone I've been able to confide in these last few years and he understands me because we are so painfully similar. I will always do my best to protect him, even when he's back to being an adult and no longer needs me to help him with everything."

"I feel the same way 'bout him, doll. Besides Stevie, Tony was a real big help post HYDRA. We were able to talk and relate to each other and he understood better than Stevie could," Bucky says as he wraps an arm around Loki's shoulders and kisses his temple. "Maybe he'll fight us on this, but Tony will always be like our kid."

Loki rested his head on Bucky's shoulder, the two staring straight ahead at nothing in particular until a familiar bark followed by a giggle brought them back to the present. Tony ran in with Brownie and the two got on the bed, careful to not jostle the tray around too much to avoid spilling anything. The two adults laughed and brought the child between them with Brownie following after and curling up on Tony's lap.

Breakfast was forgotten as Bucky set the tray on the bedside table and then the four of them curled up on Loki's bed and proceeded to fall asleep in a tangle of limbs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't know when the next update will be 'cause I'm working on 3 chapters at the same time right now and they're all pretty shitty, I've had a tough week and it threw my writing mood off so...
> 
> starting next update we'll start talking about Endgame so prepare yourselves :):
> 
>  **Edit 5/13/19** Thank u all for 20k !!


	29. Happy (Meal)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I wanna go see Peter," Tony tells Happy who rolls his eyes. "And I want a cheeseburger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is before the Valentine's Day chapter just so ya know and there's no confusion.

"Hi!" A tiny voice greeted Happy, startling the man and making him drop the papers he'd been holding.

"Fuck!" Happy shouted as he placed a hand over his heart and glared down at the tiny version of his boss who was grinning up at him as he clutched at his stuffed bear, Mister Snuggles tightly to his chest.

"Fuck," Tony repeats in between giggles as he stares up at Happy who glared down at him. "Hi Happy."

"What are you doing here, brat?" Happy asks the four year old as they stand in the middle of the lobby of Avengers Tower, other people bustling about and not paying them any attention. "Shouldn't you be with your parents?"

Tony only shrugged and bent down to pick up the papers Happy dropped and hands them to the man.

"I wanna go see Peter," Tony tells Happy who rolls his eyes. "And I want a cheeseburger."

"Course you do, brat."

"Please," Tony begs him and Happy sighed in resignation.

"Alright. Just let me hand these to Marie so she can give them to Pepper, grab you a coat and we'll go."

Tony cheered and followed Happy over to the receptionist, Marie, who smiled down at Tony. Everyone who worked at the tower knew the kid as a relative of one of the Avengers who was staying with them for a short amount of time. They'd had to be informed since they often saw one of the Avengers heading out of the elevator with the kid. Most employees thought the kid was either Tony's kid or a relative of Tony's since they could see a resemblance between the two.

"Hello, Tony. How are you, sweetie?" Marie asked the four year old as she rummaged around in a drawer in her desk.

"I'm very good, Mrs. Hughes," Tony replies with a bright smile that makes the older woman coo and Happy rolls his eyes knowing the kid was dialing up the cuteness for a reason.

"Here's a little somethin' for you, sweetie," Marie tells him as she hands Tony a Blow Pop which is Tony's favorite flavor, the blue razz berry one. She always seemed to have one just for Tony.

"Pepper needs to sign these before I drop her off at the airport later, I'm going to take this one to get a cheeseburger," Happy informs Marie who nods and reassures Happy that she'd get the papers to Pepper quickly. "Come on, brat."

Tony skips happily beside Happy as they left the tower with the four year old bundled up in a thick coat to protect him from the New York winter.

*

Peter was in the living room watching TV when there's a knock on the door. His Aunt May was taking a shower after a long work shift and the teenager wasn't expecting Ned over, so he got up quickly to open the door with a slight frown.

"Down here!" A tiny voice called out after Peter hadn't seen anyone, so his gaze traveled down and he grinned when he noticed a pouty Tony clutching at Mister Snuggles with one arm and in the other he had a Happy Meal. "Hi Peter!"

"Hi spider baby, what are you doing here?" Peter asked the four year old as he stepped aside to let the kid in, peeking out into the hall to see if he spotted an adult who might have come with Tony, but he didn't see anyone besides his neighbor stepping out of his apartment. "Who brought you here?"

"Happy did, but he already left," Tony explains as he heads over to the kitchen table and sits as Peter goes over to join him and helps him set out his meal. "Had to take PepPep to the airport 'cause she's going to- to uh somewhere." Tony shrugs, unable to remember where Pepper was going.

Peter watches in amusement as Tony sits Mister Snuggles in the seat next to his before unwrapping his cheeseburger and taking a big bite. Well, as big of a bite as a four year old can manage. He sits next to the kid and takes a fry from Tony who glares playfully at him just as May walks into the room.

"Oh! Hi, jellybean!" May greets the child in surprise, walking up to Tony and kissing the top of his head.

"Hi Aunt May! I came to visit!" Tony tells her happily as he twists around in his seat to look at her and May chuckles fondly as she ruffles his hair.

"Well thank you for coming, jellybean, we've missed you. Did someone bring you?"

"Happy did."

"Do the others know you're here?" May asks Tony with the look she uses on Peter when she suspects that he's done something wrong and it works perfectly well on Tony as well because he makes a face that confirms her thoughts. No one but Happy knows he's with the Parkers and knowing Happy, they know that he's not going to tell Bucky or one of the other Avengers. Happy likes to avoid contact with the team often. "You were wrong on leaving without telling at least one of them, jellybean. And it's wrong to leave without asking for permission."

"I know. I'm sorry," Tony mumbles sadly, sniffling a little and rubbing at his eyes with the back of his eyes and getting a bit of ketchup on his hair.

"Aww, hey, don't be sad, spider baby. May will call Bucky and tell him that you're here and now you know so you won't do this again, yeah?" Peter asks the child as he picks up Tony and slides into his seat with the kid on his lap so he can keep eating while the teenager wipes away the ketchup from his hair.

"I promise."

"Good." Peter kisses the back of Tony's head and watches as Aunt May pulls out her phone to call Bucky.

Meanwhile at Avengers Tower, Bucky exited out of the conference room on the communal floor where he'd been for the past two hours with the team on a conference call with Fury and Coulson. They were discussing the details for their next mission and had left Tony in the living room watching a movie and with some toys and a snack, but since they hadn't heard anything from the child and FRIDAY was currently down due to some minor technical issues, they had no way of knowing if the four year old was behaving or had wandered off. Again.

"Has anyone seen Tony?" Bucky asked the others after checking every room on the communal floor, a worried frown on his face upon not finding the boy anywhere.

"Uh no. He's not in the living room?" Steve asked Bucky who shook his head.

"Maybe he's up on your floor," Sam suggested and both Bucky and Loki quickly hurried to the elevator.

Tony wasn't anywhere to be found and the whole team was panicking. Steve was about to head down to the lobby to ask Marie if she'd seen Tony when Bucky's phone goes off with a video call from May.

"May, look-"

"Did you lose someone?" May asks him in amusement as she smirks at Bucky before pointing the camera of her phone towards a familiar four year old sitting at the kitchen table eating a cheeseburger completely oblivious to the fact that he'd nearly sent a whole group of superheroes into a heart attack.

"Of course he's there," Steve says fondly as he shakes his head and Bucky sighs in relief.

"Happy dropped him off a few minutes ago."

"Happy likes to watch the world burn apparently," Bucky grumbles. "We'll be there in a few minutes. Thanks May."

"No problem," May tells them and hangs up and Bucky turns to face the rest of the team who all look a mix between relieved and amused.

*

Tony's still eating by the time Bucky and Loki arrive at the Parker's apartment. Tony's giggling at a joke that Peter made, but his smile fades quickly when he spots Bucky and Loki with disappointed looks.

"Hi," Tony greets them quietly, raising a ketchup dirty hand to wave at the pair who sigh and feel equal parts relieved and angry. "I'm sorry for leaving again. I was lonely and wanted to see Peter."

Bucky walks forward and kneels down in front of the kid who turns in his chair to better face the man. Meanwhile, Peter and May leave the room to give the three some privacy as Loki thanks May and goes to stand behind Bucky.

"We get that you are sorry, but you need to understand that it is not alright to do this, Anthony," Loki scolds the child who looks down at his lap.

"I know."

"Alright, we know you're sorry, kid, but you're still in trouble. When we get home, you'll be in time out for five minutes and you'll go to bed earlier tonight and no TV or video games or any other electronics you like to use, are we clear?"

"Got it."

"Good. Finish eating so we can go home."

Bucky kisses Tony's forehead before getting up and going over to talk to May as Peter walks back into the room and sits across from Loki, who takes Mister Snuggles' seat, and Tony.

"So, any plans for Valentine's Day?" Peter asked the black haired prince with a grin on his face, not even flinching when Loki turned to glare at him.

"Do you?" Loki asks instead, his lips stretching into a grin slowly when Peter flushed and looked down at the table. "Didn't think so, child."

Tony was too busy eating and playing with the toy that came with his meal to pay attention to the two teasing each other about their pining. If he'd been aware of the conversation, he'd be bugging Peter to ask MJ out. He knows the teenager likes her a lot (like Bucky and Loki like each other), but Peter always gets really nervous when he mentions MJ and the word girlfriend in the same sentence.

On the drive back home, Tony falls asleep in the backseat of the car clutching at Mister Snuggles and the toy he'd gotten with his Happy Meal. Bucky and Loki simply look at each other and sigh. Guess time out will have to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will now be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, mainly because I've written four chapters between yesterday and today and I've been on a role lately (lmao) also because we need some more fluff after the traumatizing mess that was Endgame.
> 
> I went with McDonald's and not Burger King because I prefer McDonald's over BK and also because I took my little sister to McD's this weekend and I got a happy meal as well. I got an Iron Man toy lmao


	30. Happy 5th Birthday (?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were meant to throw a little surprise party for Tony that weekend, but of course Doom decided that he could cause chaos and interrupt their plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied smut at the beginning, but no actual smut cos i can't write that shit and this is a cute fluffy fic so get your minds out of the gutter
> 
> PLEASE ignore all the mistakes in this chapter, but I wrote this on my phone and it's much more difficult for me to do so hence all the ugly ass mistakes. I'll fix 'em eventually

"You know Tony's birthday is in a few days," Bucky says out of nowhere as him and Loki sit on the couch watching a tv show with Loki's back against Bucky's chest and the ex Hydra assassin's arms around the prince.

"I am aware," Loki replies lazily after awhile, having been on the verge of sleep when Bucky had spoken up. "Is there a reason you are reminding me of this? I have not once forgotten Anthony's birthday and I certainly do not plan on doing so. Besides, FRIDAY would remind me anyways."

"Well yeah and okay, I admit that maybe I didn't elaborate on where I was goin' with that thought," Bucky defends himself as Loki sits up to turn and look at him with an unimpressed look. "He's still a kid, Lo, and we're not sure if it'll wear off today or next week, but we know it could be any day now, I'm just saying. What if we throw him a little party just before his actual birthday? Could be just us, Peter and May, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey and Carol. Maybe even your kids, let them see their baby brother one last time."

Loki's silent for a bit as he looks away from Bucky who knows that his boyfriend doesn't like to be reminded of Tony going back to normal. Strange had dropped by two days ago to check on Tony like he'd been doing for the past nearly eight months and had said that the curse wasn't as strong anymore. That it was weak which meant that it was coming to an end soon. He wasn't able to give a definite time, but he guessed that by the end of the month Tony would be his old self again. They were all conflicted on the news and were trying to make kid Tony's last few days with them the best. And by the best it means spoiling him rotten.

"We shall inform the team and get their opinion on this, but it would be a good idea," Loki eventually tells him, looking back at Bucky with sad green eyes.

Bucky cupped Loki's face in his hands and said, "Hey, we'll be okay. We'll still have him, just different."

"I know," Loki whispers before leaning forward until he can press his lips against Bucky's softly.

"Now, what do you say if we take advantage of the fact that the kid ain't home and we go have some fun of our own?" Bucky asks his boyfriend as he moves his lips across Loki's jawline and then down his neck.

"My chambers are more private," Loki replies breathlessly before he's transporting the two to his floor.

*

They were meant to throw a little surprise party for Tony that weekend, but of course Doom decided that he could cause chaos and interrupt their plans. It's a mess of robot limbs all over Central Park and Times Square by the time they're done. Loki and Bucky are pissed that their boy's day got ruined, but there's always the next day, right?

Wrong.

Sunday has the team heading to Arizona where it's fucking hot and they have to battle weird slimy creatures. By the end of it, they're covered in goo and Sedona is covered in a giant gooey purple blanket.

Monday is no better. Fury calls Steve, Natasha and Bucky down to Shield and Thor leaves for Asgard and it's practically just Loki and Tony alone at home. By then, both Loki and Bucky are beyond frustrated and the team are no better. They know time is running out and they don't know if Tony will still be a kid by the time his actual birthday arrives.

"How about tomorrow?" Bucky says that night as he and Loki lay in bed after a long day. "We can just get the cake, everyone's in town and all we'd really need to get is the cake and a few balloons. We could set up while he's at daycare."

"That would be for the best. We can't be sure if he will still be a child by this weekend," Loki replies as he turns on his side and cuddles up into his boyfriend who wraps an arm around him and pulls him impossibly close.

"So tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow. I will inform our teammates while you take the child down to the daycare."

"See babe, we make a great team!" Bucky exclaims and he can practically hear Loki roll his eyes at him.

"Just go to sleep, Barnes," Loki mumbles though there's a hint of amusement in his voice and Bucky leans down to press a kiss to his forehead.

Tuesday, it finally happens. While Tony's at daycare, they all go out to buy the things they'll need, invite the others and set up the common area. Thor manages to arrive with Jane and Darcy an hour before they have to go get Tony from daycare. Rhodey shows up with Carol and Goose (which Bucky won't admit out loud that he's actually scared of), Pepper and Happy also show up just as Bucky and Loki have gone down to pick up the four year old and May and Peter also manage to get there on time.

"How was daycare?" Bucky asks Tony as they take the elevator up to the communal floor with the four year old in Loki's arms. Lately the child had been a little clingy with Loki which Natasha had pointed out that it'd started shortly after Loki and Bucky had gotten together. They thought that maybe Tony was feeling a little left out, like maybe he felt like he'd be forgotten.

"It was okay," Tony tells them with a small shrug as he wraps his arms around Loki's neck and lays his head down on the prince's shoulder. "I want cuddles."

"Are you a cuddly bug again?" Bucky coos at the child who giggles into Loki's neck.

When the elevator doors open on the floor, there's a sudden shout of 'Surprise!' and 'Happy birthday, Tony!' from everyone else that's in the room and it startles Tony who looks at everyone wide eyed from where he's clutching at Loki's t-shirt.

"Happy birthday, Anthony," Loki tells him in a much quieter voice as he presses a kiss to his cheek.

"Is my birthday?" Tony asked curiously as he stared at his parents who smiled fondly at him.

"Not really, it's in a few days," Bucky explains. "Just, ya know how busy we've been lately with fighting bad guys and we figured we'd celebrate your birthday a few days early so we don't have to worry about bad guys running your big day."

"Oh."

Loki and Bucky stand back and watch with fond smiles as Tony walks around the room greeting everyone with a large smile and plenty of hugs. They watch all the women in the room coo and practically melt over him, his hubby cheeks covered in faint lipstick stains and the rest of the team either toss him up into the air (much to their horror) or do some sort of secret handshake.

"We've done a good job," Bucky eventually tells Loki as he wraps an arm around his boyfriend's waist.

"I suppose you have. Spoiling him and leaving all the discipline to me," Loki teases Bucky who scoffs playfully and rolls his eyes at the mage. "Anthony truly is something special."

Tony and Peter run around playing with Goose and Brownie who at first had been a bit reluctant to be around the cat looking creature, but now it seemed the two had form a friendship. All the other adults are standing around having different conversations and drinking the alcoholic drinks that Natasha prepares.

"So, Tones, how old are you turning?" Rhodey asks the mini version of his best friend who sits on his lap happily eating a chocolate bar that Rhodey had given him.

"Mama says I'll be five," Tony tells him, holding up five chocolate covered fingers.

"Wow! You're old."

"Not as old as all of you."

Rhodey and Carol start laughing at the child's response, not knowing that Tony was technically older than some of the Avengers in the room. Loki simply shakes his head and sighs.

"Time for cake!" Bucky calls and Tony races off towards Bucky who picks him up as everyone in the room gather around the table where the cake is.

"What kinda cake is it?" Tony asks as Bucky has him stand on a chair as Natasha looks for a knife. "Is it chocolate?"

"Chocolate ice cream cake, mo stoirin," Steve informs the child who gasps excitedly. His two favorite things in one, boy is he lucky.

"Happy birthday to you!" They all start to sing to the child who smiled brightly at all of them, clearly loving the whole being the center of attention thing.

Natasha and Carol cut the cake and hand it to the others once they've finished singing, with Tony obviously getting the first slice.

"Is it good?" Loki asks the child sitting on his lap who was happily eating his slice of chocolate ice cream cake.

"Very good, mama. How come you're not eating any? Do you not like it?" Tony asked him curiously as he tilted his head backwards to look up at Loki who smiled down at him.

"I do, but I don't want any right now."

Tony shrugged at his answer and went back to eating just as Bucky walked over to join them on the couch with his own plate of a large slice of ice cream cake. Tony grinned at him, ice cream all over his face that Loki wiped away. with a napkin.

"Hurry up and eat kiddo so you can open your presents," Bucky tells the child who nods and starts to eat his cake quickly.

By the end of the evening, Tony is fast asleep curled up on Thor's lap and clutching at the god's shirt. Pepper, Happy and May left after Tony had opened his presents. They'd all been a little unsure on whether they should get him presents or not, considering the fact that he wouldn't be a kid much longer, but because he was still a kid, they decided to just pretend that that's all he really was. If they went a little overboard with the presents, well Tony would probably tease them for it once he was back to his normal self.

"He really tired himself out," Natasha says fondly as she runs a hand through Tony's curls before working on removing his Converse and setting them on the floor.

"Aye. The little one had quite an eventful day," Thor replies in a surprisingly soft voice as he looks down at the child in his arms. Thor, who was always loud no matter what mood he was in, had surprised the Avengers when they discovered this new softer side of the god that Tony had brought out of him.

"I'm just surprised that he's still not running around with the amount of cake he had," Clint commented as he leaned back in the armchair he was sitting on and let out a happy sigh as he patted his stomach after having finished the left over take out food they'd ordered.

"That kid's not normal. He always falls asleep after eating ice cream," Peter chimes in from where he's sitting on the ground coloring in a My Little Pony coloring book that Tony had been using earlier. It'd been a gift from Wanda who'd given him a whole new stack of coloring books along with a new box of crayons and colored pencils since Tony had already finished all the coloring books he'd had and broken or lost a few crayons.

"You're not normal," Bucky tells the teenager as he nudges his side with his foot which makes Peter squirm and glare at the super soldier.

"At least the call the assemble didn't interrupt our day," Sam says, but just then the alarm starts to go off which startles Tony awake who promptly bursts into tears from the fright and makes everyone else groan.

"Ya had to open your mouth, Wilson," Bucky grumbled as he untangled himself from Loki, the two having been practically on top of each other on the couch.

"I'll take Tony up to his room," Peter offers as he stands up as Steve instructs FRIDAY to cut the alarm and tell them what's going on. "Come on, spider baby."

"Avengers assemble!" Steve shouts in his Captain voice once FRIDAY gives them a rundown of what's going on and they all head off to get their gear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thought I was over Endgame until I read this post about Tony telling Dum-E to not touch anything while he's gone and Dum-E waits and waits for Tony to return but he doesn't because ya know and it was so sad and I've been crying myself to sleep thinking about Tony's bots and FRIDAY because I'd honestly forgotten about them and they've also lost their daddy and now I'm sad again :) Suffer with me.


	31. Mini Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hi! I'm Tony!" The four year old greeted the other two teenagers as he stood up and Peter followed shortly after, dusting the two off. "And I'm four."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any mistakes will be fixed once I finish this story so please ignore

"Be good, don't wander off and listen to Peter," Bucky warned Tony as he tied the child's shoes, not catching the eye roll the four year old gives him but Steve and Clint do and they snicker. "Did you roll your eyes at me?"

"No, I would never do that," Tony replies innocently as he smiles at Bucky who gives him a 'I don't believe you' kind of look.

"Cute," Peter says in between giggles as he walks over to them with Tony's jacket. The two would be going to the park for while the team headed off to Shield where Fury and Hill had called them in for a meeting. "Alright spider baby! Are we ready to go?"

"Ready!" Tony declares as he rushes off towards Peter who helps him put on the jacket and zips it up for the child.

"Okay, have fun and if something happens, call anyone of us. We'll have our phones on in case of an emergency," Bucky informs Peter who nods.

"No worries, mama bear. Besides, Tones will be completely safe with your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

"Here's that set of chalk you were looking for," Natasha says as she walks into the room with a little plastic tub filled with different colored chalk.

"Thank you, Nat!" Tony tells her as he takes the tub and then the two boys head towards the elevator.

The park was fairly empty. Just a guy running, a young couple walking their dog and two other kids playing on the play area with their mothers sitting on a bench talking.

"Alright spider baby, what do you want to do first?" Peter asked as he looked down at the four year old who was practically vibrating with excitement.

"I wanna go on the swings! Can you push me, please?" Tony asked him as he pointed towards the swings.

"Sure, spider baby! Come on," Peter picked up the child and ran towards the swings with Tony giggling in his arms the entire way.

Peter sits the four year old on a swing and instructs him to hold on tightly before he starts pushing him lightly at first but then Tony demand that he go higher and so Peter, careful of his strength, does as he's told and pushes Tony higher. Tony meanwhile a shrieks in joy as he kicks his feet to help Peter.

After spending a good few minutes on the swings, the two ran off towards the play structure and ran around playing tag.

"Wow Parker, didn't know you still liked playgrounds," came MJ's familiar teasing voice that made Peter stop at the top of a tube slide with Tony behind him pushing at his back and demanding that he either get out of the way or go down.

"Uh hi MJ," Peter greeted her and Tony looked up at the girl that had caught Peter's attention.

"Ugh, Peter! Stop being a chicken and go down! Your fat ass is blocking the way!" Tony whines and MJ snickers while Peter gasps and turns to look at the four year old with wide eyes.

"Did you just call me a chicken?"

"Yeah, cause a four year old swearing is totally normal, Parker," MJ mumbles with an amused look on her face.

Peter went down the slide, taking Tony after him which made the child scream and laugh as they tumbled on the ground in front of MJ who stared down at the two.

"Hi Peter!" Ned greeted as he walked over to them with a grin on his face and a cup of coffee in hand.

"Hi! I'm Tony!" The four year old greeted the other two teenagers as he stood up and Peter followed shortly after, dusting the two off. "And I'm four."

"My friends call me MJ," the girl with curly hair introduces herself as she shakes Tony's hand with an amused smile.

"And I'm Ned, Peter's best friend and his guy in the chair."

"What's that?" Tony asks as he looks up at Peter who smiles down at him.

"That means that he helps me out with Spider-Man stuff, spider baby," Peter explains and Tony gasps excitedly as he turns to look at Ned with wide eyes.

"You help Spider-Man! That's so cool!"

"So, Parker, who's your mini me?" MJ asks after Tony runs off to play on his own and the three teenagers sit at a picnic table where Peter can keep an eye on the over energetic four year old who by some miracle, has made a friend his age now.

"He's uh Loki and Bucky's kid, but he's like my uh little brother, ya know?" Peter explains a little nervously as he plays with his hands and avoids looking at MJ by looking over at where Tony and a little girl his age were playing.

"Huh, didn't know that they'd adopted a kid," Ned comments and Peter shrugs.

"Well they're pretty private people. No one outside of the Avengers knows so could you like keep this quiet? They don't want anything bad happening to the kid and I don't either."

"No worries, loser, we'll keep this quiet," MJ reassures him with a rare genuine smile.

The three talk for awhile until Tony runs over to them with his cheeks flushed a bright red and smiling brightly as he gets on the seat and climbs over onto Peter's lap, panting heavily as he leans back against the teenager.

"Tired, spider baby?" Peter asks the four year old who nods as he grabs Peter's arms and wraps them around himself.

"I'm hungry," Tony tells him as he looks back at Peter with a grin. "Papa said you had to feed me if I got hungry."

Ned and MJ chuckled at the child while Peter scoffed playfully and tickled the child's sides.

"You're a little brat," Peter tells him fondly as he smiled down at Tony who only grinned and shrugged. "Alright, so what do you want?"

"Ice cream!"

"I meant for lunch. Ice cream is not lunch food."

"I say we have ice cream for lunch," MJ chimes in as she winks at Tony who nods. "The mini me says he wants ice cream and you promised to feed him."

"Yeah Pete, ice cream is food," Ned tells him.

"Unbelievable, everyone's ganging up on me," Peter says as he throws his arms up in the air and Tony bursts into loud giggles. "Alright, we'll eat ice cream, but don't tell your parents I let you eat junk food instead of actual food, got it?"

"Got it! Thank you, Peter!" Tony hugged the teenager tightly before getting off his lap and running off to get his chalk.

"You're good with him," MJ tells him as the three stand up and wait for Tony to finish saying goodbye to the little girl he'd been playing with.

"He's the best. He's got everyone wrapped around his little finger," Peter comments fondly as he watches Tony giggle with the little girl.

"A little heart breaker in the making," Ned comments with a large smile as he watches the little girl kiss Tony's cheek before the two run off their separate ways.

"Oh you have no idea," Peter mumbles with a smirk, his friends unaware that Tony really was a heart breaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any Game Of Thrones fans? God, that ending was just so disappointing to me, but my respects to all the actors and writers and everyone else involved in making the show come to life. Kept me hooked from start to finish and now that it's over, I feel empty again.


	32. I'll Be Needing Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "FRIDAY, get Bruce to meet us in the medical wing," Bucky told the AI, trying to sound calm but really, he was worried and the kid's lack of a reaction was frightening him quite a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For **anxious_soul** who requested this one

Tony's had his fair share of falls and cuts. All minor injuries that disappear after a few days and that require no medical attention. After all, he's a kid and kids are constantly getting hurt for one reason or another, so it's no big deal. It's normal to see Tony with a new bruise on his leg or a paper cut on his finger and someone on the team kissing his boo boo to make it feel better. It doesn't mean that the whole team doesn't worry.

So when Tony takes a tumble down the stairs when they're at the compound one weekend, they all kind of just freeze. Bucky and Loki had always warned the kid to not run down the stairs because it was dangerous and he could fall and get hurt. Obviously, like any kid, Tony either doesn't listen or likes to test that theory. So when Bucky and Loki had told the kid that they could go downstairs to eat ice cream that Steve had brought, Tony immediately runs off despite their protests.

He's about halfway down the stairs when he trips on his own feet and tumbles the rest of the way down. Bucky hears himself gasp as he races down the stairs with Loki following.

Tony is sitting, looking dazed and shaking a little and they don't see it at first, but then Loki notices the blood near Tony's left eyebrow and sees the cut. It's not long, but it is kinda deep and Bucky knows it's going to need stitches.

"Anthony," Loki calls his name as the two crouch in front of the boy who still hasn't made a sound. They guess the fall was pretty scary and it'd left him pretty shaken up.

"FRIDAY, get Bruce to meet us in the medical wing," Bucky told the AI, trying to sound calm but really, he was worried and the kid's lack of a reaction was frightening him quite a bit. "Tony, kid, let's go see Bruce so he can fix up your boo boo, yeah?"

"It hurts," Tony finally whimpers out as a tear rolls down his cheek, bringing a small hand up to touch his cut before Bucky or Loki can stop him and smears blood all down the side of his face and his hand.

"We understand, Anthony, and Bruce will make it better, but do not touch it again," Loki instructs the child gently as he picks him up since Bucky was looking like he'd suddenly forgotten what to do. "Can you tell us if anything else hurts?"

"M-My hand," Tony whimpers out as he holds out his left arm and Loki nods.

"James, we need to get him to Bruce," Loki informs his boyfriend who nods and quickly follows after the two, the mage practically running towards the medical wing. "Keep him talking."

Bucky did. All the way down to medical, Bucky would ask Tony questions about what he wanted to do, eat or watch and Tony would reply shakily, but it was still a little concerning when the child still hadn't cried. Al fall like that had to have hurt, especially with a four year old like Tony who usually burst into tears anytime he bumped into a door or the coffee table. Including that time he fell off his bed and gained a bump on his forehead from where he hit it against the nightstand.

"What happened?" Bruce asked the pair worriedly as he saw the bloody mess on the side of Tony's face, rushing forward to take the four year old from Loki who handed him over quickly.

"He fell down the stairs," Bucky told him, watching the I'm-Not-That-Kind-Of-Doctor set Tony down on a bed and pull on some gloves. "Is it normal that he hasn't cried?"

"It could be from the shock," Bruce informed him as he gathered his supplies, not even looking up when Steve, Natasha and Wanda rushed into the room looking worried, Wanda and Steve turning a few shades lighter when they saw the blood on the kid. "Hey, he's fine! It looks worse than it really is."

"What happened? FRIDAY told us he was hurt," Steve asked frantically as he watched Bruce wipe clean the cut near Tony's eyebrow, watching Tony flinch but all the noise he makes are small whimpers.

"He was running down the stairs and tripped," Bucky tells them, unconsciously squeezing Loki's hand a little tightly.

Tony finally starts crying when Bruce announces that he's going to need stitches. His sobs are pained and he squirms on the bed and tries reaching for anyone who can save him. Loki's moving forward in an instant, Bruce and him communicating with silently.

"Alright," Loki eventually says and places a glowing hand on the child's head and they watch as Tony's eyes slip shut, body slumping into Loki's awaiting arms.

Bruce is quick to stitch up Tony's cut with the child under some kind of sleep thanks to Loki's magic. Bucky also tells Bruce that Tony bad complained about his hand hurting and upon further examination, Bruce told them that he'd sustained a sprain to his wrist. Bruce places a brace to keep it immobilized until it healed.

"So no concussion or anything?" Bucky asked as he watched Loki carefully cradle the child in his arms as if he were a new born baby. "Anything else we have to worry about?"

"No, Bucky. Everything else is fine, just the cut near his eyebrow and his sprained wrist. Just a days rest should be good. And try to keep him from not touching his stitches or accidentally tearing them out."

Loki nods and the others relax simultaneously.

It was quite amusing, Bruce thought, how worked up they'd all gotten, himself included, over the sight of all the blood on Tony's face. Usually it looked worse than it really was and he was glad that that'd been the case. Tony, both adult and kid version, was constantly giving them all heart attacks, so Bruce was more or less getting used to seeing him covered in blood or with a broken bone. Adult Tony was very accident prone when sleep deprived, they'd learned. Add a kid Tony into the mix, well they should just pad the whole place.

"I'll make him something to eat for when he wakes up and inform the other three of what happened, they should be back from their trip by now," Steve informs them as he walks out after Loki and Bucky with Natasha and Wanda walking behind him.

"So what'd you do?" Bucky asks the mage as they head up to their suite to put Tony in his bed.

"He was on the edge of a panic attack and I simply used a spell that would help him relax," Loki explains as he lays the four year old down gently, making a face when he sees the stitches. "He should not be out long."

"We can never catch a break, can we?" Bucky questions him with amusement in his voice, heart finally beating normally as he pulls Loki out of the room after him.

"Not at all."

Once Tony wakes up, he's being coddled by everyone on the team and the little brat milks his injuries by telling them with big round eyes filled with tears that it hurts. Bucky and Loki simply watch amused as the others run around fetching him food, his two favorite plushies and then when Peter calls, the child cries as he explains what happened and how it hurt so much and how scared he was. Peter had looked about ready to leave his apartment and get to the compound with a worried anxious look on his face until Bucky reassured him that Tony was fine.

Tony even got an extra scoop of ice cream after dinner, which he didn't even finish because he fell asleep slumped into Loki's side.

"Only a four year old can make us run around like crazy," Steve says fondly as he stares at the sleeping child who had his injured wrist on his chest, careful to not sleep on it.

"More like only Tony Stark can make us run around like crazy," Bucky corrects his best friend as he grabs a napkin and wipes away the ice cream around Tony's mouth.

"Let's just keep the injuries to a minimum, I don't think I can take losing another five years off of my lifespan," Clint tells them as he takes Tony's bowl of ice cream and finishes it off.

"You sure it's not all the junk food you eat?" Natasha asks him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope. I'm certain Stark's bringing me closer to my death."

The others roll their eyes, but kid Tony was certainly taking away years from their lifespan. Some days Bucky swore he felt older than he really was, but it's been a great experience and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

 _'I wouldn't trade this'_ Bucky thinks as he looks over at his boyfriend who's smiling down lovingly at the sleeping four year old and running long pale fingers through the messy curls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> akjdskfh couldn't help myself with the Shawn Mendes reference
> 
> Next chapter might feature Lady Loki (there's not enough of Lady Loki out there)? I'm not making any promises because I've already rewritten it like five times and it's still pretty sucky so I might just skip to the next prompt. Also since I missed my Wednesday update, I should clarify that 3 updates a week are not actually guaranteed 'cause like I lost my will to write all this week and this was my last pre-written chapter, so yeah.
> 
> Have a lovely weekend everyone !!!


	33. Malibu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's hot," Tony complains as soon as they walk out of LAX, holding Loki's hand while Bucky dealt with their bags. "Mister Snuggles doesn't like it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of 5

"You have to be quiet, alright darling?" Loki informed the four year old in her arms as she pressed herself against a brick wall, heart racing wildly in her chest and making it a little hard to breath. "I promise that we will find the others soon, you just need to be brave for me. Can you do that?"

Anthony nodded against her neck, clutching at the black denim jacket she was wearing and taking in a shaky breath. Suddenly the sound of footsteps running towards them had both tensing and Loki looking up at the sky and praying to whoever was listening that they wouldn't be found.

 _"Find them!"_ A man barked out angrily in Russian. _"She can't do anything without her magic, so they couldn't have gone far."_

Loki closed her eyes and held her breath, hand cupping the back of Anthony's head to keep his face tucked into her neck and trying desperately to not start shaking from fear. Her ribs were protesting against the added weight and her ankle was throbbing from earlier.

"I will keep you safe, darling. I promise," Loki reassures the child even if she didn't really believe it herself.

**A Day Ago...**

"It's hot," Tony complains as soon as they walk out of LAX, holding Loki's hand while Bucky dealt with their bags. "Mister Snuggles doesn't like it."

"Are you sure it is your bear and not you, Anthony?" Loki asks the four year old teasingly, a smirk forming on her lips as she looks down at him.

"I'm sure."

Bucky chuckled and shook his head fondly. A white SUV pulled up along the curb where the three were waiting and the windows rolled down to be greeted by a grinning Clint Barton who wore his signature purple tinted glasses and a large grin on his face.

"All aboard the Clint Barton Express!" The archer shouted and behind them came Natasha's scoff and Steve's sigh of resignation which made Tony giggle as he ran up to the SUV and climbed into the very backseat, high fiving Clint on the way.

"The least you could do is help us with our things," Natasha scolded the archer who shrugged, waiting for them to pile their bags into the back.

Loki climbed in after Tony and sits beside him, helping the overexcited four year old with his seatbelt. Mister Snuggles sat on Tony's lap as the child stared out the window.

"Can we go to the beach, mommy?" Tony asked Loki as he turned to face the woman sitting next to him who wore sunglasses and her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail with a few loose strands framing her pale face. She wore a simply gray v-neck with dark skinny jeans.

"Maybe later, Anthony. After we settle in," Loki told him as she smiled down at the boy who nodded.

They weren't technically in vacation, well, Loki and Tony were, the others were here on a mission and Loki was brought in as backup in case they needed her to infiltrate anywhere to gather information on the guy the team was investigating for having suspected stolen alien tech in his possession. In the meantime, Loki and Tony were there to enjoy Malibu and have a small impromptu vacation.

"Ugh, I wanna go to the beach," Clint whined from the driver's seat and Natasha sat in the passenger seat, hitting his arm and reminding him that they were on a mission. "Doesn't mean we can't have fun."

Steve and Bucky occupied the middle row of seats, the metal armed soldier turning around to wink at Loki who rolled her eyes behind her glasses. Tony giggles beside her and hugs Mister Snuggles closer to his chest as Clint begins the drive to Tony's new Malibu home. Adult Tony had gotten it shortly after Bucky had moved into the tower after his old one had been destroyed by the Mandarin, having planned to use it for Avengers vacation time, but unfortunately the team had never gotten around to using it as a vacation house.

Once at the house, Bucky and Loki take the master bedroom ("That's not fair!" "Suck it up, Barton. The lady and I are together and therefore have dibs on the bigger room."), Tony stays in the room next to theirs and the other three take bedrooms furthest from the master bedroom. Luckily each room has their own bathroom so there won't be any arguing about first dibs.

"We get the best view," Bucky says as him and Loki stand by the French doors that lead out into the balcony that gives them a great view of the ocean in the distance. "Well, I get the best view everyday."

Loki turns to to face him with a raised eyebrow and the corners of her lips twitching up into a smirk. Her gaze returns back to the ocean, not even reacting when Bucky wraps his arms around her waist and holds her from behind.

"So since we're technically not starting the mission until tomorrow, why don't we take advantage of the fact that we've got the others here to look after the kid and we go on a date? Hopefully it'll go better than the million times we tried having our first one," Bucky suggests, resting his chin on her shoulder as he too stares outside, chuckling at the memory of the many times they had planned their first date only for it to get ruined by an enemy attacking or because the kid had gotten sick. Sometimes the others weren't the best babysitters and it showed.

"And where, if I may know, are you taking me?" Loki asked him as she leaned back against him completely, tapping a soft rhythm against his metal arm.

"I made reservations at a nice restaurant a few days ago, so dress nice, doll."

"Are you implying that I do not dress nice?"

"Ooh, Barnes is gonna get his ass kicked!" Clint shouted as he walked past their room, Tony yelling out a "dollar!" in the distance.

"I don't mean it like that and you know it. All I meant was that you should dress fancy?"

"Do you need help kicking his ass, Loki?" Natasha asked from where she was leaning against the bedroom doorway with a smirk on her face and Loki chuckled as she untangled herself from her boyfriend's arms.

"I would appreciate it," Loki tells her and the two women giggled and Bucky really really didn't like how terrified he was of the two women together. One of the downsides of having Lady Loki around was the team that Wanda, Natasha and her made. They were even more scary than fighting aliens when they were together.

"I'm here because I heard something about a date so I'm going to take Loki shopping, some female quality time to get away from all you men for awhile," Natasha tells Bucky as she walks into the room and grabs Loki's hand, dragging her away before she could even reply. "Watch after the kid, Barnes."

"Sure, steal my girlfriend."

The two leave and Tony walks into the room a few minutes later with a pout on his face. Bucky by then is laying on the bed on his back, putting off unpacking until whenever and he simply pulls the four year old onto his chest when he climbs on the bed.

"Where's mommy going?" Tony asks as he cuddles into Bucky.

"Shopping with Nat so she can be all pretty for tonight," Bucky explains a little tiredly, just wanting to take a nap after the flight from JFK to LAX.

"But mommy's always pretty? And what's tonight?"

"She is and tonight mommy and I are going on a date and you'll be staying here with the others."

"But why can't I go?"

Bucky groans before replying with, "Because sometimes mommy and I need grown up time, kid and you can't come because we'll be out way past your bedtime."

"But why?"

And Bucky officially wanted to stab himself. Tony's new habit was annoying and he hated having to explain things in circles.

"Hey, mo stoirín, why don't we go swimming in the pool and then we'll send Clint out to buy us some ice cream," Steve suggests as he pokes his head into the room and in an instant Tony's running off towards his room to find his swim trunks while Bucky shoots Steve a grateful look. "Get some rest, Buck, the girls may be awhile and I'll keep Mr Why busy."

"Thanks, punk."

Once changed into his trunks, Tony meets Steve and Clint outside. The archer was already in the pool and was shooting at Steve with a water gun. Tony giggled and ran over, about to jump in but Steve was quick to wrap his arms around the little boy and hold him back.

"Steve!" He whined as he looked up at the blonde man who chuckled.

"Not so fast, my little mermaid. We don't need you getting sun burned, so let's put on some sunscreen first and then you can jump in," Steve told him.

"But it's gross."

"But it's for your own good."

"But why?"

"Because."

"Because why?" Tony asked as Steve rubbed sunscreen all over his skin while Clint groaned at the kid's antics.

"Steven, do something!" Clint whined as he shot at both Steve and Tony who shrieked when the cold water hit his back.

"Alright Tony, all done. Go have fun," Steve tells the child who grins at him and runs off towards the pool where he jumps in which gives Steve a mini heart attack. "Jesus, he's reckless no matter what age."

Clint, having heard Steve, snorted and gave the four year old his own water gun where the two then proceeded to shoot each other and then Steve who was being boring and lounging in a chair. They didn't stop until Steve got in the pool and grabbed his own water gun.

*

"Why do women take forever getting ready?" Bucky asks no one in particular as he places the living room, dressed in black slacks and a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows.

"Dude, you did not just say that. You're really asking to sleep on the couch tonight," Clint spoke up from his spot on the couch where he was sitting with his feet in the coffee table and scrolling through Netflix.

"Papa, you're silly. Mommy takes forever because she makes herself extra pretty," Tony explained to Bucky in a tone that suggested that he was tired of having to explain to him why Loki took forever getting ready when in her female form.

"Huh, someone is doing something right with the kid," Steve said a little surprised by Tony's answer as he turned to look at Tony who was sitting on the ground with a bowl of ice cream on the coffee table and oblivious to the fond looks he was getting from the three men in the room.

Natasha walks down the stairs and shoots Bucky a look as she goes over to sit by Clint and takes the remote from him.

"Where's the princess?" Clint asks her. "Weren't you helping her get ready or did she kick you out for being a crazy and controlling woman?"

Suddenly a smack rang around the room and Clint cried out in pain. Tony, not even bothering to look up from his treat, says, "you had it coming. And my mommy will be ready when she's ready. You don't rush perfection."

"Holy shit."

"That's two dollars. You still owe me from earlier."

 _"What a precious kitten. I'm glad we ladies have done a great job with you,"_ Natasha praises Tony in Russian and he looks over and absolutely beams at her.

 _"You're the best!"_ Tony tells her with a big grin before going back to his ice cream.

The sound of heels clicking against hardwood floor alerted them to Loki's approach and Bucky let out a small sigh (of relief because any later and they'd lose their reservations) and fixed himself as he waited by the bottom of the stairs for his girlfriend to appear.

She walked down wearing a black dress with cami straps whose length reached slightly above her knees and a v-neck at the front. Her shoes were red colored and her black hair was done in soft waves and just about reached her shoulders, which yay for magic because Loki sure does love playing with her look. Her lips matched her shoes and her lashes were curled and coated in mascara. She wasn't one for jewelry, but she wore a gold colored necklace with a small heart shaped pendant and a few rings on her fingers.

"You should close your mouth before you catch flies," she told Bucky with a smirk as he helped her descend the stairs.

"I told you. You don't rush perfection," Tony tells them all in a knowing tone and a smug look that Natasha pats him on the head for, the only one not affected by Loki since even Clint and Steve were staring at her wide eyed and like they'd never seen her so dressed up before. "Mommy you look very beautiful."

"Thank you darling," she says with a wink in his direction that made the four year old giggle as he finished up his ice cream. "Are we leaving soon?"

"Uh I uh, yes! Tony, kid, be good and go to bed on time. Just cause we're not in New York doesn't mean that you don't have to follow the rules, got it?" Bucky informs the four year old who nods as if he were actually going to obey, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that suggested a long night for the others. Bucky didn't even feel a tiny bit bad about it.

"Come say goodbye, darling," Loki says as she extends her hand, nails the same shade of red as her shoes and lips. Tony got up from his spot on the floor and ran over to Loki, hugging her around the waist and mumbling something into her side where he'd buried his face. Whatever he'd said, only Loki heard because she laughed and stroked his hair lovingly. "Hmm, I suppose. Be good and do not give them such a hard time."

"No promises," Tony tells her as he pulls away from the hug with a large smile on his face and Clint groaned, probably already guessing what the rest of their evening was going to entail.

"Just go to bed sometime before midnight," Bucky eventually says in resignation as he too hugs the child and then sends back over to his previous spot. "Alright kids, don't wait up!"

"Wrap it before you tap it!" Steve shouts after them deviously and Bucky's whole face flushes as he lets Loki lead the way out to the car. "Serves him right. So, Tony, what do you wanna do, buddy?"

"Hmm I wanna play UNO!" He shouts.

"Oh no," they all mumble. Tony was basically the king of UNO, not even Peter can beat him. Not even cheating can they beat the four year old. "I'll go find my cards!"

"My dignity can't take getting my ass kicked by a four year old at a card game anymore," Clint tells them with fake horror and Natasha snorts beside him.

"What dignity? You lost that years ago, Barton, when you mooned a whole bunch of reporters after a battle and your white ass was all over the internet hours later," Natasha says and Steve laughs at the memory. Tony had even printed out a copy and framed it, placing the picture over the mantle on the fireplace in the communal floor.

Two hours later, four empty pizza boxes and many many rounds of UNO later, Natasha declared it late enough where it was time for Tony's bath and then time for bed since he was already nodding off and flashing them all his cards.

"Uno! Ha! In your face Hobbit!" Clint shouts victoriously as he sets down his last remaining card and starts dancing around, unknown to him that Tony was fast asleep and slumped against Steve who shook his head with a smile. "FRIDAY, save the video under my blackmail folder, would ya?"

"Certainly Agent Barton," FRIDAY replies, clearly amused by the situation as well.

"Save it, Clint. Tony fell asleep before he could see your embarrassing dance moves," Steve informs the archer who stops dancing and turns to look at the child who is, in fact, fast asleep.

"Argh! Seriously?! The one time," Clint mumbles, pouting and crossing his arms across his chest as he sits back down on the floor. "Sore loser."

"Guess I'll just put him to bed then," Steve mumbles as he gently picks up the child and carries him upstairs.

"Wan' Mister Snuggles," Tony mumbles into Steve's shoulder as he struggles to open his eyes.

"Shh kid, you'll get Mister Snuggles soon."

Meanwhile, a few feet away from the house, Bucky and Loki had returned from dinner and were walking down the beach with their bare feet getting hit by the gentle waves every now and then. Loki was holding her heels in her right hand as her left was holding Bucky's right.

"I know I'm technically here on a mission with the others, but, I still wanna be able to spend some time with you and the kid before we head back to New York next week," Bucky says softly, the night too peaceful and beautiful to disturb with loud voices.

"Technically I am on standby, so really, this is not much of a vacation for me either," Loki reminds him and Bucky chuckles as he gives her hand a soft squeeze.

"I know, but still. You'll get to do things with the kid and I'll be investigating some guy who may not even be who Fury thinks he is. Maybe he's really as clean as his records indicate."

"Oh please, we both know that will not be the case. We both know he is trying too hard to keep said records clean, but there is definitely something that he is hiding."

"Can I tell you something? Since landing, I've had this feeling in my chest that ain't going away and I don't like it. Kinda makes it feel like i can't breath," Bucky confesses as they stop walking and turn to face each other.

"I feel it, as well. I felt it during your last mission where you went missing."

Bucky doesn't want their night to end on such a note, so instead he leans down and presses his lip softly against Loki's and using his free arm to wrap it around her waist and pull her close.

"Wanna head back to our room?" Bucky asks her against her lips.

She doesn't reply, but the next time Bucky pulls away from her lips, they're back in their room and laying on the bed.

*

Tony wakes up from a restless sleep and sits up on his bed. He felt tired, but his eyes didn't seem to want to stay closed. He didn't even know what time it was, but judging by how quiet the place was, he had to assume that it was pretty late by now.

"FRIDAY, what time is it?" He asked the AI as he rubbed at his eyes and yawned, Mister Snuggles lay across his lap on top of the blankets.

"It is currently 12:36 am, little boss. Would you like me to get Captain Rogers?" FRIDAY asked her creator in a low tone.

"Are Bucky and Loki back?" He asks instead, voice sounding a little wobbly. All he wanted right now were his mommy and papa to cuddle him and help him fall back asleep.

FRIDAY hesitates for a bit, but her creator's well being will always be her first priority (no matter if the people he was asking for were about to get busy) so she tells him that they are back and tries to warn the super soldier and mage about Tony's growing distress, but Loki mutes her in between soft pants and moans.

Tony hurries out of bed as soon as FRIDAY confirms that his mommy and papa are back, Mister Snuggles clutched to his chest as he races next door and starts to knock when he realizes that the door to their bedroom is locked.

They take forever (truthfully it's about two minutes) to answer the door, but when Loki opens it, Tony throws himself at her and cries into her stomach, wetting the shirt she was wearing with his tears.

"Darling? Is something wrong?" Loki asks him gently in a worried tone as she picks him up easily, shooting Bucky a frantic look.

All of his frustrations quickly melt away as Bucky catches sight of how worked up the child is getting. He gets out of bed and hurries over to his girlfriend who's being unsuccessful in calming Tony down so he can tell them what's wrong. Loki, feeling more than guilty, unmutes the AI and asks her what's wrong.

"Little boss has been unable to have an uninterrupted sleep," FRIDAY tells them.

"Thanks, FRI," Bucky says as he takes Tony from Loki and rubs his back in gentle circles as the four year old buries his face into the soldier's neck. "Come on, kid. Let's get in bed."

The couple climb back into bed with the child between them and Bucky is a bit startled when Loki starts singing quietly as she plays with Tony's hair. The two feel bad because they can see how tired the four year old is, but it appears to be one of those nights when sleep doesn't come easy and the later it gets, the more the frustration starts to grow. At least when he was an adult, Tony would spend time in his workshop, but as a four year old who needs every hour of sleep he can get, long sleepless nights end in tears and a very cranky child.

It takes nearly an hour before Tony falls asleep between them, the two adults sighing in relief and following shortly after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For my sake, because my notes are all over the place rn, **prompts are closed** and this story (I'm 80% sure) will end on Chapter 50 (possibly, I might change my mind 10 chapters from now).
> 
> Tony calls Loki mama and Lady Loki mommy to show a difference between the two, thanks for coming to my TED talk.


	34. MIA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky tensed, that feeling that hadn't left him and that Loki had apparently also felt, only growing into fear as he felt his blood run cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 of 5
> 
> Also this 5 chapter story arc is based on 3 different prompts from **Domain_Dog, TheAlien20** and my platonic soulmate

In the morning, Bucky walks down the stairs still half asleep and heads into the kitchen where Steve's already working on breakfast and Nat going through their mission again as Clint sits on the counter drinking coffee.

"So, how was last night?" Clint asked him, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "Guessing by how tired you look this morning that it was a pretty good night."

"I don't want to know about my best friend's sex life," Steve chimes in with a disgusted look on his face as he keeps flipping pancakes, not even bothering to look over at Bucky who grunts as he sits at the table with Natasha who raises an eyebrow at him.

"Someone didn't get any," she informs the other two as she goes back to her work and that's when Steve turns to face his best friend and Clint gapes at Bucky.

"Uh dude, unless you said something to not earn it, what the fuck?" Clint asks him, leaning forward with curiosity clear on his face.

"We had a small guest last night. It was one of those nights where he couldn't sleep," Bucky explains to them. "He's still sleeping right now and so is Loki. It was a rough night."

"Cockblocked." Clint snickers and Bucky rolls his eyes.

Loki walks downstairs ten minutes later just as Steve's finished making breakfast, Tony in her arms clinging to her and whining about something. She looks annoyed, which is her morning mood most days, but she looks about done this time. She's still wearing Bucky's shirt from last night, the one she'd quickly shrugged on after getting interrupted the night before and a pair of leggings underneath.

"How's the little one?" Natasha asks the princess as she takes Tony from Loki, whining and nearly bursting into tears until the red headed spy settled the four year old on her lap and snuggled with him.

"A pain in my neck," Loki grumbles as she goes over to help Steve who thanks her.

"Mother of the year," Clint teases her as he hops off the counter and sits at the table like a normal person for once, but he starts poking Tony's side since he sits next to Nat who glares at the archer as Tony whines loudly.

The rest of breakfast goes by quick and easy after Steve takes Tony and sits as far away from Clint as possible. By then, Tony's perked up at the sight of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Then, the team is getting ready to leave for their mission, the feeling Loki's had since they landed only getting tighter and making it a bit hard to breath.

"Have fun today and be careful," Bucky tells his girlfriend who has Tony on one hip as they say goodbye to Bucky at the door, the others already in the car waiting for him.

"We will," Loki promises him softly, pecking his lips.

"Bye, kid, be good to your mother, alright? I'll see you tonight."

"Bye papa," Tony says quietly, voice a little sad as he waves at Bucky who kisses his head before leaving.

*

"What are we doing today, mommy?" Tony asks as Loki dresses him up for the day in khaki shorts and a light t-shirt, searching his unpacked bag for some socks and shoes.

"We are meeting up with an old friend, darling," she replies with a smile, not wanting to tell him who exactly they were meeting up with and instead wanting it to be a surprise. She was sure Tony was going to love it.

"A friend of yours?"

"You could say that."

They meet up with the mystery person at a small local cafe near the beach. Tony doesn't recognize her right away since she's sitting on one of the tables outside with her back to them as they walk up. The lady's blonde hair is pulled up into a messy bun and she's chatting with someone else.

"Maggie," Loki calls as they approach the table and Tony gasps when he sees Teddy sitting next to his mother and coloring in an activity sheet the cafe gives kids.

Maggie and Teddy both look up, Maggie with a warm smile as she stands up and Teddy rushing over to hug his best friend. The two women watched the two boys embrace and giggle excitedly.

"It's good to see you again," Maggie tells Loki as they sit down at the round table as a waiter walked over to them.

"It is," Loki agrees, smiling up at the waiter when he passed the menus around. "Has California been alright?"

"Believe it or not, I actually miss the cold," Maggie confesses and the two chuckle.

A few tables away sits a man with blonde hair, an iced tea in front of him and his phone pressed to his ear as he stares at the mage and four year old.

 _"Yes, I have eyes on them,"_ he says in Russian, gaze hidden behind his sunglasses as he looks around the cafe. _"Too many people to act and they have company that the boss won't appreciate if they get hurt in the process."_ The person on the other line gives him the next set of instructions and the man replies before hanging up.

*

**Port Hueneme, California ; 27 miles away from Malibu**

"You see that logo on the guy's shirt?" Natasha asked quietly into the comms, pretending to be looking at a map with a slight confused look on her face to throw off anyone who might look at her suspiciously, leaning against a red pick up truck and looking up every now and then to 'read' the street names before looking back down at her map.

"The weird bird looking logo? Yeah, why?" Clint asked from his spot on a roof across the street from Natasha.

"Saw it on a guy at the airport and I'm pretty sure I saw it back in New York on someone else we know."

"Guys," Steve chimes in, an hour after having gone his separate way from the team. "Buck and I found something and it's not good. Our guy is working for HYDRA under a new branch. HYDRA is expanding and quickly."

"Shit," the twin spies curse under their breaths.

"Fury's gonna shit bricks on this one," Clint comments. "Did you guys find anything else?"

"Yeah. Our guy's sellin' them stolen alien tech that they modify for whatever purpose they need it for," Bucky says as he sorts through some files. "They're plannin' somethin' and though the notes don't specify, they're after someone."

"We need more information so I say we have a little chat with an agent?" Natasha asks them and they all agree.

It doesn't take long for the four of them to ambush an agent and subdue him. When he comes to, they're in a warehouse and Natasha is sitting in front of him looking as dangerous as ever. She gives the guy a smirk, crossing one leg over the other.

"We have questions and you have the answers we need, so we can either do this the easy way or my way," Natasha informs him, faking the sweetness in her voice as she smiles at him, casually pointing at him with her Widow Bites.

"You won't get anything from me," he tells her, thick French accent making it a little hard to understand him.

"Oh, you'll talk alright. Everyone cracks eventually and we have someone else that will get you to talk."

Bucky walked out from the shadows, looking every bit like his Winter Soldier persona and he held a gun in his hands like something delicate. He felt satisfied on the inside when the agent tensed in his seat, eyes widening slightly in fear before he composed himself and tried to act nonchalant about the whole situation.

 _"Are you going to talk or should I resort to old methods?"_ Bucky asked him in Russian, face devoid of any kind of emotion and his left hand catching the light just right for the metal to catch the agent's gaze. _"Who are you working for?"_

Natasha gets up from her seat when the guy doesn't say anything and she walks up behind the agent, pulling out a knife from somewhere in her suit and pressing it up against his neck. Bucky heard the man take in a sharp breath, extending his neck to get away from the sharp object.

"He asked you a question," Natasha tells him with a low growl in her voice, pressing the knife just a bit, but hard enough to draw some blood.

"How about you answer me this," the man started, the previous fear now replaced with a cocky smirk on his face and apparently relaxed enough to forget the knife to his throat. Both Bucky and Natasha shared a look, already dreading what this guy was going to say. "Tell me Barnes, I hope you weren't stupid enough to leave your girlfriend and child alone. Were you?"

Bucky tensed, that feeling that hadn't left him and that Loki had apparently also felt, only growing into fear as he felt his blood run cold. Even Natasha froze and he could hear Steve and Clint curse in his ear through the comm he was still wearing.

"Your reaction is answer enough. Hope your girlfriend is strong enough to protect not only herself, but also little Stark. Thought you guys could keep it a secret, huh? Well, lucky for us, we had someone close to the little brat working for us."

"Shit," Bucky grumbles angrily as he rushes off, already pulling his phone out of his pocket to call Loki and warn her.

Steve rushes over to his best friend who's pacing nervously, making a frustrated sound when Loki doesn't answer.

"She's not picking up. Her phone doesn't go to voicemail, so something had to happen," Bucky says as he keeps pacing and dialing her number.

"Maybe she's busy and didn't hear it, Buck. Do you know where her and Tony were going?" Steve asks his best friend who stops pacing and turns around to look at him, eyes wide and brows furrowed in concern.

"Uh they had a lunch date with Maggie and Teddy at some cafe in Malibu. They'd be heading to the beach after that," Bucky tells him, dialing Loki's number again and eventually deciding to leave a message. "Lo, call me back as soon as you can. Please, doll. You and Tones are in danger and I need to know you're okay."

"Uh, guys? Nat's getting this guy to talk and he's not saying anything pretty," Clint informs them as he walks over, eyes wide and face paler than normal. "He also said who's the one who betrayed us and you're not going to believe it."

*

**Malibu, California ; Thirty Minutes Earlier**

Loki was feeling uneasy. She could feel eyes on her but every time she turned around to see if someone was staring, she couldn't figure out who. Brushing it off as her weird feeling from yesterday, Loki instead focused on the two giggling boys and having a nice conversation with Maggie who went on and on about how so much more different life was here than in New York.

"So, how are you and Bucky doing? Any more kids in the future?" Maggie asks Loki who chuckles a little nervously.

"Uh James and I are doing perfect and no, no kids. This one is more than enough," Loki replies as she stirs the straw in her lemonade, looking from Maggie to Tony with a soft smile. "Besides, with our jobs, it is not exactly easy to be doing the parenting thing."

"My husband Marcos and I thought the same before Teddy arrived. We both worked nine to five jobs and he travels often so we figured that maybe we couldn't do this. But as opposed to us, you have a whole lot of help and sure, maybe we're not out there risking our lives to keep the world safe, but you've done a great job so far," Maggie reassures Loki, placing a hand over hers and squeezing it gently.

They drop the subject because Loki doesn't want to admit that maybe she would like to have kids with James in the future, but she's terrified of Odin and of history repeating itself. She'd lost all of her kids before they could even crawl, and she couldn't even begin to imagine what a baby half her and half James would bring.

*

"Did you like your surprise?" Loki asked the child as they walked down the sidewalk, planning on heading to the beach but something was telling her to just grab Anthony and head home where they would be safe.

"Yes! Thank you, mommy. I liked seeing Teddy again. I missed him lots," Anthony tells her, looking up at her with a large smile and she smiles fondly as they keep walking, Anthony's hand in hers and trying to not run into anyone else.

Turning to look behind her shoulder, Loki saw a familiar man walking a few feet behind them. With a frown, she realized he'd been at the cafe and had sat there the entire time they'd been there with Maggie and Teddy. Tightening her grip on Anthony's hand, she picked up their speed and the four year old complained about his little legs not being able to keep up.

"Sorry, darling. Just in a bit of a hurry," Loki explains as calmly as she can as she picks up Anthony and sets him on her hip, quickening her pace and weaving through the crowd and hoping to lose the guy following them.

"Mommy, what's going on? Why's that guy following us?" Anthony asked her, wrapping his arms around her neck and sounding a little scared.

Loki was too busy trying to outrun the guy following them that she didn't even feel her phone buzzing several times in her back pocket.

"Anthony, I am going to need you to call James while I try using a spell to help us," Loki instructs the child after having turned the corner and losing the guy completely, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and unlocking it before she hands it over to the four year old.

The child nods and with shaky fingers, starts looking through Loki's contacts as the mage fumbles her way through a spell that unfortunately she doesn't complete on time.

"Well well, who do we have here," someone said as they stepped in front of Loki, cutting off her path. "Thought we wouldn't find you, Loki? You and Stark are going to be extremely valuable to us as we lift up our organization."

"I have no desire of being a mind controlled puppet again and I will not let you lay a hand on my child either," Loki tells him angrily, fingers glowing green with her magic before she blasts the guy off, people running off screaming and Loki takes the chance to grab Anthony, turn around and run off in a different direction, but she doesn't get far because then there's pain all over her and she drops to her knees with the kid who drops the phone as it rings.

"Mommy!" Anthony cries out worriedly, tears already rolling down his cheeks as Loki struggles to breath through the pain as she rests on her hands and knees. "Don't touch my mommy!"

"A-Anthony," she choked out, feeling drained and suddenly she knew why everything hurt. They'd locked her powers. "Grab the phone and run."

"M-Mommy," he stuttered out in fear as he bent down to pick it up, eyes darting up nervously as the guy approached them with a smirk and the weapon he'd shot his mommy with still pointed at her like he wanted to shoot her again just to make sure.

Loki is glad for the sudden burst of adrenaline she gets as she pulls out her daggers from places that Natasha had helped her learn to hide them in for emergencies like this. In one quick motion, she's back up on her feet, pushing through the pain and standing in front of the child protectively, the guy smirking with amusement clear on his face.

"Put those away, babe, you'll get hurt," he taunts her, but in the next second she's pressing him up against a wall with one dagger at his neck and the other pointed at his stomach. "Feisty. Now I get what Barnes sees in you. Must be rough under the sheets."

"Do not underestimate me. I am so much more than just my magic and I will rip out all of your organs one by one if you or any one of those men you work with dare lay a hand on my child," Loki threatened him in a low voice, eyes narrowed into a glare. "Would you like to send a message to whoever you are working for?"

The guy didn't say anything, simply gasped in pain as Loki stabbed him with her dagger in his stomach, careful to miss anything vital so he could deliver her message. Loki smirked as her gaze locked with his.

"Come on, Anthony," Loki says as she walks over to the child after cleaning her daggers on the guy's shirt and placing them back in their hiding spots. Loki picked up the four year and ran off with the him clinging to her.

"I want papa," Anthony whimpered as he buried his face in her neck. "And I dropped your phone. I'm sorry, mommy."

"It is alright, darling. I will find a way to get into contact with your father."

"What did that guy do to you?"

"He did something to lock my powers and I am guessing that he works for whoever the others are searching for."

*

"Track her phone," Natasha informed Clint who nodded as he grabbed his phone and told FRIDAY to give him Loki's location.

"I am sorry, Agent Barton, but I am unable to trace their location. Their last known location was at Malibu Farm Pier Cafe," FRIDAY responds apologetically and Bucky growls in frustration, wanting to punch a wall. "However, little boss was able to send a distress signal shortly before I was unable to communicate with them. They both appeared to be in trouble."

"We need to find them. Now," Bucky told them as he headed out of the warehouse, not bothering to see and wait if they were following him.

They reach the jet, which was a bit smaller than the one in New York and used for smaller teams. Natasha quickly took the pilot seat with Clint next to her.

"I'll call in the others," Steve informed them as he walked up to a screen and typed in a few things. "FRIDAY, patch me through to the others."

"What's up, Cap?" Sam answered quickly as his face appeared on the screen with the others around him in what looked like the communal kitchen.

"We need you all here as quick as you can. The mission hit a few complications and Loki and Tony are currently MIA and in danger."

All of their faces went from happy to worried and angry and Thor worst of all, looked like he was about to bring the worst storm over them. Thor was a protective brother and the villains had better learn that Thor would do anything if Loki was hurt.

"We'll be there as soon as we can. Keep us updated."

Steve nodded and the call ended. The blonde soldier turned to face his best friend who was sitting on a bench with his head in his hands and he approached him.

"We'll find them, Buck," Steve reassured him as he crouched down in front of his best friend. "We won't let HYDRA get to them."

"I know we are, because I don't know what I'm going to do if we don't," Bucky tells him quietly, voice trembling with a mix of anger and fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday tony stark, i miss you 3000 !!! 😭😭💔💔💔


	35. Assemble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The sun is starting to go down so we need to hurry," Steve tells the assembled Avengers who all nod. "Avengers assemble!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 of 5, right? I'm kinda lost asjhfkj
> 
> Anyways, short chapter today !!

"You have to be quiet, alright darling?" Loki informed the four year old in her arms as she pressed herself against a brick wall, heart racing wildly in her chest and making it a little hard to breath. "I promise that we will find the others soon, you just need to be brave for me. Can you do that for me?"

Anthony nodded against her neck, clutching at the black denim jacket she was wearing and taking in a shaky breath. He could be brave. Suddenly the sound of footsteps running towards the direction they were in had both tensing and Loki looking up at the sky and praying to whoever was listening that they wouldn't be found.

 _"Find them!"_ A man barked out angrily in Russian. _"She can't do anything without her magic, so they couldn't have gone far."_

Loki closed her eyes and held her breath, hand cupping the back of Anthony's head to keep his face tucked into her neck and trying desperately to not start shaking from fear. Her ribs were protesting against the added weight and her ankle was throbbing from earlier, but she pushed down her discomfort in order to stay alert to the danger.

"I will keep you safe, darling. I promise," Loki reassures the child even if she didn't really believe it herself at this point. She was exhausted and losing her powers had left her feeling weak.

After having defeated that man who locked her powers, she'd kept running with Anthony in her arms and had eventually bumped into another agent who she'd gone hand to hand with, silently thanking all those sparring sessions she'd done with almost every member of the team, but mostly Natasha and James. Anthony had hidden behind a bench as he watched Loki go up against the guy. She was lucky to come out of it with just bruised ribs and a possibly sprained ankle. Without her magic to heal her though, it was only going to get tough being on the run from whoever those guys were.

Once the sound of their feet running got further and further away, Loki opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She'd managed to buy them a few minutes to hopefully find someone and get into contact with the others.

"Let's go, darling," Loki whispered to the child who nodded and then she headed off in the direction they'd just run from, hoping to get back to a more populated area than this part. There was nothing but a lonely sidewalk seeing as it was a path that lead down to the beach and there were no businesses here. And it's not like having been around people would have helped either. Most would have just turned a blind eye just so they wouldn't get caught in whatever mess was happening.

*

Bucky was still trying to call Loki even though he knew that whatever had happened for FRIDAY to lose contact with them probably meant that she no longer had her phone.

They were in Malibu now, a block away from where Loki and Tony had last been, waiting for the others to arrive, Natasha trying to hack into some confidential files to try and get more information. Clint was scoping out the area, hoping to find anything that could clue them in as to where Loki and Tony had gone. Steve was talking to Hill on the phone to inform them of the trouble they'd run into.

"Hey," Sam called out and they looked up to find the rest of their team plus Rhodey and Spider-Man heading their way.

"Have you heard anything?" Wanda asked worriedly, playing with the rings on her fingers in a nervous habit as Vision stood next to her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing yet. Clint's looking around hoping to find anything that could help us out," Natasha told the group with a sigh as she stood next to Bucky.

"Loki was definitely around here," Clint says as he jogs back over to the team, Steve having ended his call with Hill and starting to plan how they would split up to search for the two missing members of their family.

"What'd you find?" Bucky asked the archer in a slightly hopeful tone.

"An agent bleeding on the ground with some pretty nasty bruises on his face. Said Loki stabbed him," Clint tells them with a large grin on his face.

 _"That's my girl,"_ Bucky thought proudly as he shook his head. "Did he say anything else? Like give any other information?"

"None that we didn't already know. Whatever Hydra and their new organization are planning, it's being kept pretty tight and it definitely won't be anything good."

"We need to start looking for my sister and nephew, we cannot keep wasting time," Thor told them, thunder crackling in the distance and Peter nodded in agreement, the whites of his mask wide and they all just knew the teenager was just a mess under it.

"Alright, we need four groups of two and one of three. You find anything, inform us. You find them or the agents after them, you informs us and we'll head out to your location quickly. The sun is starting to go down so we need to hurry," Steve tells the assembled Avengers who all nod. "Good. Avengers assemble!"

*

Loki gets thrown against a brick wall harshly which knocks the air out of her, making her slide down against the wall and bite back a whimper as black spots danced across her vision. She can't see Anthony anywhere, only hopes that he managed to get away as she holds off the five agents smirking down at her.

"Not so tough, are ya?" The only guy in a gray suit, which makes Loki think that he must be a higher ranking agent, asks her as he crouches down in front of her and grabs her face roughly with his right hand. "You're going to be real useful to us, Loki. It'll be better than New York and the Chitauri. You failed then, but you will not fail with us, sweetheart. Because failure will not be an option and we'll only try and try until you're successful and a perfect asset."

"I beg your pardon?" Loki asked him before she brought her foot up to kick him away from her and she quickly got back up on her feet, bringing out her daggers and ignoring the pain she felt all over her body. She needed to protect her kid, even if it was the last thing she ever did.

"You're coming with us whether you like it or not and that so called team of yours won't even care. You were a criminal before and you'll be a criminal again and they'll let you know that they only kept you close to keep an eye on you," the guy in gray says as he quickly recovers and stands back up. "What's that saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"

"I bet that's the only reason why Barnes is fuckin' her," another guy piped up which caused the rest to start laughing and for anger to boil in her veins.

Lucky for them, anger was always her best way to fight. Loki fought her way through the men, taking minimal hits to herself. She ducked and punched, kicked and slashed at them, leaving a pile of injured men on the ground. She smirked to herself before heading off in the direction she'd seen Tony run towards, ignoring the pain in her ribs which definitely indicated that at least one was broken by now.

"Mommy!" Anthony cried out as he jumped out from his hiding spot, running up to her and clinging to her for dear life.

"It is alright, darling. They are gone," Loki reassured him as she knelt down on the ground as best she could, wincing in pain as she hugged the child to her chest.

They were both dirty and tired and the sun had long since gone down, Anthony wearing her jacket to cover him from the light breeze of the night. She was hurt, but that didn't matter because at least Anthony wasn't. She'd fought hard all afternoon to keep him safe and she was going to keep doing it until the team found them.

"We need to keep going, darling. We are almost home," Loki says, looking around to make sure they were on the correct path home. It wasn't far now and once there, FRIDAY would contact the others and Loki would have a better chance at keeping them safe with the AI and the weapons hidden around the place.

"Loki? Tony?" A familiar voice called out from behind them, making the two freeze before turning around. "Are you guys okay?! Do you need help?"

Loki let out a sigh of relief once she saw who it was, but it was only momentarily.

*

"Huh, Loki was definitely here," Spider-Man says in clear amusement as him and Bucky come across a pile of unconscious men with various cuts and bruises.

"Definitely," Bucky agreed with a small smile, chest filling with pride and relief knowing that Loki was doing a great job at keeping them safe.

While he felt reassured that his girlfriend could easily hold her own in a fight and was doing everything she could to protect Tony and herself, he was just anxious to find them and wrap them in his arms and possibly never let them go. He needed to know that they were okay and that Hydra couldn't get to them.

The sound of thunder made Bucky snap out of his thoughts and he turned to face Spider-Man who made a low whistling sound behind his mask.

"I think Thor found something that he didn't like," Peter mumbled.

"Guess so," Bucky says before asking the others through the comms. "Uh what made the big guy angry?"

"We found more agents," Clint replies and the sounds of a fight clear as day. "Kind of busy right now so leave a message and I'll get back to ya in a bit."

"We're on our way, Hawkeye," Steve replies and Bucky and Peter head off in their direction as well.

Unknown to them, Loki and Tony were three blocks away relaxed enough to let their guards down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just fucking ruined my notes and took this in a completely different direction simply because i was too lazy to look through them but because I am so not going to delete the shit that I've already written, suffer with me.


	36. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was late and he knew it because it was dark and there weren't people out, but by some miracle he ended up bumping into a familiar blonde with a red cape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4 of 5 (or 4 of 4)

"Do you need me to call anyone for you?"

"No, I appreciate the offer Marcos, but we were just walking around. James shall be back in a few minutes," Loki explains a little nervously, getting in front of the four year old in a protective stance.

"But mommy, Teddy's daddy can help us," Tony told the mage who shook her head, having already caught sight of a familiar logo on the man's wristwatch.

"Of course I can! Whatever is going on, I can help you out. Heck, why don't I take you back to my place with Maggie and Teddy and we can call James and wait for him there."

"No, I insist. We are fine, but thank you anyways."

Marcos chuckled a little too darkly for her liking, looking around the empty street before his dark eyes settled on her green ones.

"I tried doing this the easy way, but they were right, you are a tough bitch to crack," Marcos says as he advances towards them in a threatening manner, making Loki and Tony to take a few steps back. "But no worries. I'll do the job that the others couldn't do. Don't know why I hired a bunch of incompetent fools to do my dirty work."

"Anthony, run!" Loki tells the four year old who runs off just as the mage throws herself at Marcos with the only dagger she has left, the other having fell during a previous battle.

Tony does as he's told and he runs away in the direction they'd just come from, heart pounding in his chest and feet aching from all the walking and running he's been doing. He was tired and just wanted to cuddle in bed with his mommy and papa and even though they'd eaten lunch hours ago, he was in no way hungry.

It was late and he knew it because it was dark and there weren't people out, but by some miracle he ended up bumping into a familiar blonde with a red cape.

"U-Uncle Thor!" Tony cried out as he gripped desperately at the man's armor.

"Anthony!" Thor shouted in relief as he picked up the child and held him to his chest. "I have Anthony!" He informs the team who all make sounds of relief. "Where's Loki, young one?"

"M-Mommy is in trouble! Teddy's d-daddy is h-hurting her!" Tony sobbed, burying his face in Thor's neck.

"Where is your mother?"

Tony pointed back in the direction that he came from and Thor relayed the information to the others, Steve and Natasha informing him that they were the closest.

"Are you hurt, Anthony?" Thor asks as he pulls back to check the child who looks as rough as they day he's had.

"Mommy is. You gotta help her uncle Thor! Teddy's daddy is mean!"

Just then Spider-Man landed next to Thor and the god wasted no time in handing the child off to the teenager, promising to help and bring Loki back. With his hammer, Thor flew until he found Loki still going at it with Marcos who by now had her pinned to a wall.

Dark clouds rolled in and lightning flashed and the thunder made the ground shake. There was one angry Asgardian on the lose and the team would not stop him.

"Unhand her, mortal!" Thor shouts angrily as he lands behind the man who's holding Loki by her throat, his sister's face already turning purple from the lack of oxygen as she claws at his hands hoping he'd let her go.

Marcos looked behind him and let go of Loki who slumped to the ground coughing and her hands went up to her neck. Thor charged at Marcos, all the anger he's felt since finding out about his sister and nephew being in danger driving him to grab the man by his shirt and toss him to the ground.

"You are the one who dared hurt my family?" Thor asked him angrily, punching and kicking the man off to the side just as Natasha and Clint ran over, the female spy rushing to Loki's side and making sure she was okay.

"Hey there big guy, we're all angry and we also justify your anger, but we can't kill him no matter how much I want to stab an arrow into his heart," Clint told Thor as he walked over to the blonde god who'd lifted his hammer and was getting ready to strike. "We need to get more information out of him, find out why Hydra was after Loki and Tony. You can help Nat interrogate him if it'll help your anger, but we should get Loki and Tony home and get them checked out."

"Very well," Thor mumbled, glaring down at Marcos who was bleeding on the ground half conscious before walking over to where Natasha was kneeling next to Loki who was leaning into her.

"The others are rounding up a few stragglers they found, but Spider-Man and Wanda are getting Tony to the house where Bruce is waiting," Natasha explains to Thor who nods as he kneels down next to the two females, blue eyes gazing sadly at his sister. "We're also getting into contact with Strange seeing as they used something to lock her powers and hopefully he can restore them."

"Yes, that would be wise. I will take Loki back to the house."

Natasha nods and whispers something to Loki who has her eyes closed, but she makes a small sound indicating that she heard whatever Natasha told her. With one look from the red head, Thor moves to scoop up the injured mage in his arms and holds her close before heading off to the house.

*

Bruce walks out of the small medical area adult Tony had set up as soon as he bought the house, wearing his white lab coat and taking off his glasses to clean them in his usual nervous habit.

"How are they?" Bucky asked the doctor, anxious to hear about his family as the rest of the Avengers gathered around to hear the news.

"Tony's a bit dehydrated, but that's to be expected. I have him hooked to an IV line right now but he'll be good to go in an hour or so. Loki did an excellent job at keeping him safe," Bruce tells them all with a soft smile as he put on his glasses again to look at them. "As for Loki, I want her on bed rest for at least a week. She's got two broken ribs and three more cracked ones, a sprained ankle, bruising around her throat and a mild concussion. She's exhausted as should be expected, so she's sleeping right now and I don't think she'll be waking up anytime soon."

"We'll get Strange in here once she wakes up then," Steve says and they all nod.

Bucky goes in to see his girlfriend and the kid first, heading over to Tony first since the child was still awake and hugging Mister Snuggles with the arm that didn't have the IV in. Tony's eyes flick up to him and he smiles tiredly.

"Hi papa," Tony whispers, careful to not wake up Loki who was sleeping in a bed five feet away from him.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Bucky asks as he kisses Tony's head, his lips lingering against his forehead and closing his eyes trying to tell himself that it was all okay now. That they were home and safe. "I'm so sorry, buddy."

"You don't need to say sorry papa." Tony shrugs as he places a small cold hand on Bucky's cheek, holding the man's teary gaze with a look of complete reassurance in his that it made him look so much older than a four year old kid. "You didn't know."

"I know kid, but I always promised to protect you and your mama, even if she can take care of herself. You two mean the whole world to me, Tones, and I almost lost you guys today." A tear rolled down his cheek that Tony quickly wiped away with his thumb. "I-I should have stayed with you guys. I'm so sorry, baby boy."

Bucky wrapped his arms around the child carefully, closing his eyes as more tears rolled down his cheeks and Tony clung to him, he too crying quietly into his chest.

A few minutes later Tony was fast asleep and Bucky tucked him in bed before heading over to Loki who opened her eyes and smiled tiredly at him.

"Thought you were sleeping," Bucky said quietly as he pressed a short quick kiss to her lips before sitting down on a chair next to her bed.

"How can I when I can feel your guilt from the other side of the room, Barnes?" Loki asked him, her voice just above a whisper and she winces which makes Bucky feel ten times worse but she glares at him even though it doesn't have the effect she desires. "Stop it."

"I'm just- Doll, I-I could have done so much more to keep you guys protected. I should have stayed here and listened to what I was feeling," Bucky argues, taking one of Loki's hands in his own and bring it up to press his lips against the back of it.

"I could have done the same. Have stayed in and listened to what I was feeling."

"You feel guilty."

"Of course I do, James. I endangered our son's safety."

"But you didn't know and you did your damn best to not let anyone hurt him, Lokes," Bucky told her, giving her hand a small squeeze and he frowned when she smirked at him.

"It was not our fault, James. We could keep drowning in our guilt, but ultimately, it happened and now it is over with and we are both here and we are okay," Loki told him sternly, gaze hard as she tried to make her boyfriend realize that being guilty wouldn't do them any good.

"How are you feelin'?" Bucky asked her, just wanting to change the subject so this wouldn't turn into a who's more guilty competition or Loki getting out of bed to kick his ass.

"Weak. Tired. Sore. Whatever they did to lock my powers, has had me feeling off."

"We'll call Strange tomorrow, get him to see if he can do anything about this," Bucky tells her softly, reaching his hand up to stroke a bruise on her cheekbone lightly. "Just get some rest for now. The others will want to see you guys tomorrow."

"Did you catch Marcos?" Loki asks him before following Bucky's advice to get some rest.

"We did, babydoll. Don't worry about that though, Nat and Thor are takin' care of him before Shield comes in to take him into custody."

Loki nods, satisfied with the answer and her eyes slip shut. Bucky stayed for awhile, his hand holding hers and occasionally looking over at Tony who was fast asleep. Eventually he got up and pressed a kiss to Loki's forehead before leaving the room and meeting up with Steve, Bruce and Sam in the kitchen. It was pretty late by now, but apparently no one would be sleeping tonight.

"You okay?" Steve asked his best friend who nodded.

"I'll feel better once we're back in New York and Loki gets her powers back, but right now I'm content knowing they're here and not being chased all through the city by Hydra," Bucky explains as he sits on a barstool and thanks Bruce when the doctor places a cup of tea in front of him. "Anything on Marcos?"

"Between Thor, Wanda and Nat, they got him to talk in record time. Said he infiltrated SI a year ago to keep tabs on Tony. Hydra had apparently had their eyes set on him for awhile now and Marcos working in Tony's company meant that Hydra could form their plan based on whatever information the guy passed on to them," Sam began to explain, looking down at his drink and shaking his head in disbelief at whatever they'd found out.

"Marcos got made the head of Hydra's new division, something about testing out a new way to create winter soldiers. Buck, they teamed up with that sorcerer who turned Tony into a kid. Their original plan was to turn him and take him that day, but they hadn't counted for their sorcerer to be a low grade one and for us to move so quickly," Steve takes over and Bucky frowns.

"They were planning to train Tony young," he says quietly as realization dawns on him, feeling sick to his stomach. "If we hadn't interfered, Hydra would have gotten away with it. They were actually willing to torture and use a four year old for their benefit. But then why wait this long to attack? It's been nearly eight months since then, why did it take them until now?"

"Not sure, but Marcos used his own kid to get close to Tony and we're not even sure if his wife is in on this."

"And why did they need Loki?"

"To get you back. Loki wasn't even in their original plan, but they figured they could get Tony and Loki knowing you'd come to their rescue and trigger the Winter Soldier again," Bruce tells him and Bucky looks up at the doctor to see his eyes with a slight green tint. It was impressive how much Bruce had learned to control his anger over the years, but Bucky guesses that this problem right now isn't easy to handle since even Bucky himself can feel the Winter Soldier stirring angrily within him.

After finishing his tea, Bucky heads back to the medical room and he smiles fondly when he sees Peter fast asleep curled protectively around Tony. He walks over to them and pulls the blankets up to their shoulders, making sure they were tucked in nicely before heading over to the couch in the room and settling down on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this might be the last one of the story arc because i wrote notes but then i was too lazy to look through them and i went and changed things around. again. either that or the next update will probably be the shortest lmao
> 
> mom took my little sister to the dentist today and the little brat kept texting me from mom's phone and sending me selfies and memes and i can't with this little 6 year old


	37. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She looked beautiful, but really, what could he say. He was completely and madly in love with Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 of 5

"Mommy! Papa! Look what Peter helped me build!" Tony shouted from where he's sitting on the sand with the teenager and a sandcastle next to them.

"Wow, that's an awesome castle kids!" Bucky calls back with a large grin from where he sits under an umbrella with Loki next to him with a book on her bare lap.

"Truly a work of art, children," Loki tells them with a smile of her own.

They watch as Peter and Tony looking around for seashells and Bucky meanwhile lays down on the towel they're sitting on and turns to face his girlfriend who's in a black and gold bikini.

"I can feel you staring and it unnerves me," Loki says as she turns the page in her book, not even bothering to look over at Bucky who grins.

"You're beautiful you know?"

"Hmm yes, I believe you have told me a few times, but thank you anyways."

Bucky chuckles and turns to lay on his back and closes his eyes with his arms behind his head. It's been a week since HYDRA and Marcos had tried to take Loki and Tony and the others, though reluctantly, had headed back to New York while Bucky, Loki, Tony and Peter had stayed back in California for a few extra days to relax. Convincing May hadn't been hard. They'd video called her and used Tony to look at her with his big brown eyes and cute pout and she'd agreed right away. Even she couldn't resist him especially not after what he'd been through.

Loki placed her book down and laid down next to her boyfriend, turning on her side and bringing a hand up to trace a finger up and down his metal arm. Bucky opened his eyes and turned his head to face her.

She looked a little tired, nightmares often keeping her up at night, but healthy now that she'd regained full access to her magic though that had been a painful experience. Her hair was short again, reaching just above her shoulders and a dark shade of brown instead of black. She looked beautiful, but really, what could he say. He was completely and madly in love with Loki.

"I love you," Bucky tells her.

"Love you too," Loki replies softly.

The four walk along the shoreline later, the water brushing against their bare feet and Tony and Peter run ahead of them, jumping in the water and splashing each other. Loki and Bucky are holding hands with Loki resting her head against Bucky's shoulder and a warm fond smile on her face as she watches the two boys run around.

That afternoon they went out for dinner at a seafood restaurant on the pier with a fantastic view of the ocean that sparkled under the sunset. The place wasn't too crowded and it made for a relaxing atmosphere. Bucky made up most of the conversations with Peter and Tony, while Loki was simply content to sit back and watch her little family with a smile as she drank her wine. Just like Tony, Peter wasn't hers, but she'd grown to view and treat him like another son and she loved him like one.

"That's gross," Tony complained with his nose scrunched up as he stared at Bucky's plate. Tony's plate consisted of fish and chips while Bucky had ordered a mix of seafood with lobster and shrimp and other strange things that Tony would rather not know what they were.

"It's good, kid. Don't knock it til you try it," Bucky tells him, offering a bite of his food to Tony who moved his head to the side to avoid the fork.

Loki and Peter both chuckled at the kid who went back to his own simple meal.

The next day, they head to Santa Monica where they get on rides and play games to win prizes which Bucky adores because it gives him a nostalgic sense of the old days. He wins Loki a snake plushie and she glares at him.

"Since you know, you turned into a snake and went all stabby stabby on your brother when you were kids," Bucky explained as he held out the dark green colored snake with yellow and white spots.

"Stabby stabby?" Peter repeated behind him in between snickers and Tony giggled from where he stood next to the teenager with his own plush panda with a unicorn horn at the top which Loki didn't understand, but both the four year old and sixteen year old had shouted excitedly when they'd seen it.

"I will go all stabby stabby on you," Loki warns her boyfriend as she takes the damn snake and glares at Bucky who smiles innocently at her.

They even managed to find a photo booth where they took silly pictures. In the first one, Bucky kissed Loki while the kids made icky faces with their tongues sticking out and noses scrunched up. The second one, Bucky wrapped the snake plush around his girlfriend's neck while she looked unimpressed at him while he grinned at the camera like crazy. Tony had moved closer until his face took up most of the screen and Peter glared at the child playfully. The third one Tony was on Bucky's hip while the soldier had an arm wrapped around Loki's waist and Peter crouched slightly in front of them with his arms spread wide open. They took two more silly pictures before exiting the booth.

As they left the booth, Loki picked up the strip of pictures and smiled fondly at them. This was her family and it felt so good to finally be apart of one where there was love and trust.

"Hmm, we look great," Bucky says as he stares at the pictures over Loki's shoulders, placing his hands on her hips and giving them a soft squeeze.

"Of course we look great, I'm in every picture," Peter says playfully as he puffs up his chest and Tony giggles as he copies the teenager and the two adults roll their eyes.

"I mean Loki and I, you two look like Gremlins."

Both boys pouted and Loki chuckled before saying, "Well I am sorry to say this James, but the boys look better in the pictures than you. You look like a troll."

"Ouch," Bucky choked out and placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt while the boys laughed loudly, attracting the attention of other people that walked past them. "Babe, you've wounded me."

"Gee, now I know why mom's the best," Peter says in between giggles as him and Tony high five and while it could have been a slip from the teenager or said in a playful manner, the fact that he called Loki mom actually made her want to tear up. This really was her family.

After that, they eat all sorts of junk food (even though Loki has to be the stricter parent because eating three cotton candies can't be healthy) and their trip comes to an end after Tony throws up from the amount of sugar he'd eaten and said that his stomach was hurting. Loki had merely sighed as she rubbed the four year old's back as he continued to throw up in a trash can.

"Have fun today?" Bucky asked her quietly as he drove them home, both kids fast asleep in the back and clutching at their new plushies.

"I did. Thank you," Loki replies as she smiles over at her boyfriend who reaches over and holds her hand.

By the time they got home, the sun had long since gone down and Loki had managed to doze off for a bit. While Loki woke Peter up, Bucky went over to Tony's side and lifted the child up and carried him inside while the mage wrapped an arm around the teenager who was walking towards the house half asleep and tripping over his own feet, which he usually did all the time anyways. They got the kids settled in their room and then the two adults headed into their own and laid down on the bed tiredly.

"What a day," Bucky says with a groan. "Kinda glad we leave tomorrow. I need a vacation from this vacation."

Loki rolled her eyes at that and then got up to go and take a shower, smirking when she heard Bucky rush after her. So maybe Bucky wasn't too tired.

*

The next day when they get home, Loki and Bucky don't see Tony unless it's for meals since the whole team at one point or another kidnaps the child and hog him all day. Loki doesn't mind. She's tired and would like to go to her floor and rest and doesn't even react when Bucky ignores his floor completely and gets off on her's. He hasn't let her or Tony out of his sight in the past week, but now with Tony spending time with the team, all of Bucky's attention is on her.

They head into her room, though since getting together it's been a bit more their room with some of Bucky's things already in her drawers or closet. There's even a pair of shoes that Bucky left that have been half hidden under the bed for the last three weeks. And Bucky's room also has some of her things. It's probably only a matter of time until one or the other pop the question about moving in together.

"Sorry to interrupt," FRIDAY tells them as soon as they reach Loki's room. "But Mr Odinson would like to know if he can take little boss out with him and Ms Foster."

"Tell him that it's fine, FRI, but that they need to have the kid back before bedtime," Bucky replies as he lays back on Loki's bed while the mage starts to unpack her things. "Doll, I'm so tired and I'm getting tired of watching you do work. Just, come lay with me for a bit."

"You are worse than Anthony, you big child," Loki grumbles fondly but does as she's told and lays on her side cuddled up against Bucky who wraps his arms around her.

"You know, I'm glad we stayed a few extra days in Malibu. After what Strange told us last week, I'm kinda just waiting to wake up one of these days and have our adult Tony back," Bucky says quietly, his voice muffled from having buried his face in Loki's hair.

Loki smiled sadly and wrapped her arms around his waist in silent comfort.

*

When Tony gets back from his day out with his Uncle Thor and Aunt Jane, FRIDAY took him up to Loki's floor where he found his mommy cooking a late dinner. Tony had already eaten pizza, but his mommy's cooking was the best and he could definitely eat again.

"Hi!" Tony greets her with a large smile.

"Hello darling. Have a nice day?" Loki asked as she picked up the four year old and sat him on the counter, about a foot or so away from where she was cooking.

"Lots of fun! We went to a museum and we saw Stevie and papa there. They're old," Tony tells her in between giggles, just having discovered that the two super soldiers were nearly a hundred years old.

"True, but Thor and I are a lot older than them."

"Wow! My mommy and papa are old." Tony giggles and Loki glared playfully at the child.

"Who's old?" Bucky asked as he walks into the kitchen, yawning and stretching and his hair up in a bun.

"You are," Tony tells him, shrieking with laughter when Bucky tickles him. "N-No! Papa! Stop!"

"That's what you get for calling me old, kid," Bucky says as he keeps tickling the child.

"Stop it, James. You will make him wet himself like last time," Loki scolds her boyfriend. "Dinner is ready so can you set the table?"

"Aye aye Captain."

Tony giggled and watched as his papa dodged getting hit by Loki who waved her fingers until Bucky's hair turned bright orange. Tony laughed so hard he nearly fell off the counter and Loki looked smug while Bucky was oblivious to it all.

"I know you did somethin' but because I'm starving and your food is always so damn good, I'm gonna ignore it," Bucky tells his girlfriend who shrugs and winks at Tony who's still giggling.

It wasn't until an hour later when Bucky took Tony into the bathroom to get him bathed did he see his hair and it sent Tony off into another round of giggles.

"Loki!" Bucky shouted.

"You said you did not care so it will return to normal on its own," Loki replies as he walks into the bathroom.

Bucky simply glared at his boyfriend who blows him a kiss before leaving.

"Your mother is insane," Bucky tells Tony as he placed the four year old in the large tub.

"Mama's funny," Tony replies with a shrug as he splashes Bucky who groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i want ice cream, but i'm too lazy to go to Dairy Queen and also it's raining so like i'd rather not go out rn


	38. Extras 2.0

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just little extras that weren't long enough to be their own chapters
> 
> Each title in bold means a new little drabble/one shot

**"A Rough Night"**

"Sergeant Barnes," FRIDAY called, waking Bucky up from his light slumber.

"What's up, Friday?" Bucky asked her, shifting around in his bed to get into a comfortable position, eyes still closed as he waited for the AI to tell him why she'd woken him up at an ungodly hour.

"The little boss is awake and in distress."

As soon as the words little boss are said, Bucky is up and off his bed and racing over to Tony's room. The room is dimly lit by a nightlight, but it's still enough for him to be able to see Tony sitting up on his bed and clutching at his beloved teddy bear with a strong grip as small quiet hiccups reach his ears.

"Tony, kid, what's wrong?" Bucky asks him gently as he moves further into the room until he can sit on the bed next to the four year old. "Did ya have another nightmare? Do you feel sick?"

Tony didn't say anything, just lifted his arms up and Bucky took the hint quickly. He picked up the child who was still clinging to Mister Snuggles and then grabbed his favorite red blanket and placed it around the child who snuggled into his neck, sniffling and a few tears hitting Bucky's skin.

"Hey, tell me what's wrong," Bucky says quietly as he rubs the child's back, walking around the room.

"My tummy hurts," Tony eventually tells him and Bucky sighs, a bit relieved that they weren't going to have another talk about Tony's nightmares. They'd started to become a bit too frequent again and Bucky hated seeing his boy so frightened by them.

"I told ya not to eat so much cake after dinner," Bucky reprimands him softly as he walks down the hall and towards the kitchen, FRIDAY lighting up their way. "Let's see what I can find for you."

Tony simply clings tighter to Bucky, whimpering quietly every now and then. Bucky searched through the cabinets for some ginger tea they usually kept in stock for these kinds of situations. They've only had Tony as a kid for a little over six weeks, but the kid had gotten a ton of stomach aches (that time he ate a lot of Halloween candy just so Clint would stop stealing his was a complete nightmare).

"FRIDAY, do we have any ginger tea here?" Bucky asked the AI, letting out a sigh when he didn't find any.

"No, but Loki bought a variety of tea a few days ago, among them was some ginger tea," FRIDAY replied, keeping her voice low to avoid waking up Steve.

"Is Loki awake?"

"He is and I have informed him of the situation, says that he'll have the tea ready when you go up to his floor."

"Your a life saver, FRI. Come on, kid, we're gonna go see Loki and drink that yummy tea you like so much."

"It's nasty," Tony says, voice muffled by Bucky's t-shirt but the super soldier snorts in amusement anyway.

Two minutes later, they're on Loki's floor where the prince is already waiting for them with a cup of tea and a sympathetic smile on his face as he takes a look at the miserable child. The two adults sit at the kitchen table with Tony on Bucky's lap and the tea in front of him.

"I don't like it," Tony whines as he scrunches up his nose rather adorably and glares at the tea in front of him which prompts a tired chuckle from both Bucky and Loki.

"It will make you feel better," Loki reminds him. "You do not have to finish it, but do try for a few sips."

Tony sighed like drinking the tea was the biggest chore in life, but his stomach hurt a little too much to not drink it. He was tired and wanted to go to be, preferably in his mama's or papa's bed because he wanted some cuddles.

Tony drinks his tea, actually finishes it all much to his annoyance because he'd actually liked it this time but he was so not going to admit it. Bucky and Loki look at him with knowing smiles though and the four year old huffed as he shoved the empty tea cup away.

An hour later, Bucky has Tony fast asleep and back in his own bed and the supersoldier is just about to fall asleep himself when FRIDAY alerts him that Tony threw up. Groaning, Bucky gets out of bed after checking the time (1:36 am) before hurrying over to Tony's room where the kid was now crying and the puddle of sick on the bed and on his pants. Luckily Mister Snuggles had been spared otherwise it would have been tough getting him back to bed.

"Hey kiddo, you feel icky?" Bucky asks as he quickly moves over to strip the boy off his pants just as a tired Steve walks into the room, rubbing at his eyes and yawning.

"Wha's goin' on?" Steve asks as he takes in the scene. "Oh Tony, are you sick, mo stoirín? Do you need help, Buck?"

"You can go back to sleep," Bucky tells him even though he would like some help because he's tired and has only slept around an hour or two.

"Get him cleaned up, I'll throw these in the wash," Steve tells him as he goes over to the bed and start stripping it off.

Tony throws up a bit more, but this time in the toilet and FRIDAY informs Bucky that he's got a bit of a temperature. After a quick wash, Bucky gets him changed and gives him some medicine and then takes him to his bed. It's nearly three am by the time Tony falls back asleep and Bucky follows soon after, but three hours later, Tony's awake and crying because he can't fall asleep anymore so by default, Bucky was awake and taking the kid into the living room where he cuddled with him on the couch with his blanket and Mister Snuggles. FRIDAY turned on the TV to some cartoons and kept it on low volume despite Steve having already left for his morning run.

Bucky dozes for a bit while Tony lays curled up on his chest and watching the cartoon about puppies that help people or something. Bucky isn't sure. He's tired and he spends his time mostly asleep, content to know that Tony's fever was gone but very much alert in case the kid throws up again.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~

**"Costume Shopping" (takes place before Candy Stealer)**

"Wow, there are so many!" Tony exclaimed as he stared at the rows of Halloween costumes.

"You have any costume in mind, mini loser?" MJ asked the four year old who shook his head with a pout as he looked up at MJ who really tried hard to not turn into mush because of the kid.

"Clint suggested he be a Hobbit since that's what he calls him," Peter tells his friends who chuckle and Tony turns to glare at the teenager who smiles down at him. "Of course we're not going to buy you a Hobbit costume. You can be anything you want!"

"Hmm," Tony said as be tapped a finger to his chin and turned to face the section of costumes meant for kids his age. "I wanna be a cowboy. No! A pirate! Wait, no, I wanna be a fairy!"

"Whoa there, spider baby, lets take a look at all the costumes first and then you can see which one you want the most."

Tony nodded and pointed at a costume he wanted to see. MJ grabbed a Woody from Toy Story costume off the rack and showed it to the four year old who inspected it with a little too much concentration.

Halloween was coming up in two weeks and for some reason, all the bad guys thought that October was a good month to go on crime sprees so lately the Avengers had been kept busy and hadn't been able to take Tony costume shopping. Peter had offered to take the four year old, telling them that he needed to buy his costume as well and MJ and Ned had tagged along as soon as they heard that Peter was taking Tony costume shopping. The two had been asking about Tony often since meeting him at the park a week ago and well Peter played the part of a proud big brother and had shown them countless pictures and videos of Tony. MJ had even taken his phone to text herself a picture of Tony where he'd been wearing a Spider-Man shirt and was holding Mister Snuggles as he grinned at the camera. Peter's pretty sure she has that picture as her wallpaper.

"Do you know what you're dressing as Peter?" Ned asked his friend who shrugged.

"Do you think people would notice if I went in my Spider-Man suit?" Peter asked them only half joking as he looked through the cheap Spider-Man costumes.

"I wanna be Spider-Man!" Tony exclaimed once he saw the costumes of his favorite hero. "I can be Spider Baby and Peter could be Spider-Man!"

"How cute is that?" MJ asked her best friend with a smirk. "Baby twins."

"Sounds like a plan, spider baby," Peter told him with a grin and Ned chuckled beside them as he too looked for his own costume. Peter guessed it'd probably be Star Wars themed and MJ, well she said she was "too old to partake in such childish things" (which made Peter briefly wonder if that wasn't Loki in disguise) but he guessed she'd probably still buy something.

In the end, Peter and Tony leave the store with their matching Spider-Man costumes, Ned left with an Obi-Wan Kenobi costume and MJ leaves with a Harry Potter Slytherin robe.

"What'd you buy?" Bucky asks once they walk onto the communal floor with their bags and all of them with milkshakes in their hands.

"I'm gonna be Spider-Baby!" Tony tells Bucky as he runs up to the man and hands him his costume as he continues to drink his cookies and cream milkshake. "And Peter's gonna be Spider-Man."

"How original," Bucky tells Peter while Ned and MJ snicker. "Hello children, it's good to see you two again."

"Hey old man," MJ greets him as she goes over to sit on the sectional couch and kicks her feet up on the coffee table as she finishes off her milkshake, FRIDAY turning on the TV for her and putting on a show she'd been watching last time she was at the tower.

Ned smiles at Bucky and goes over to sit next to her while Peter and Tony show Bucky their matching costumes. Natasha walks over to them and smirks when she sees the two boys looking excited about their matching outfits.

"Clint's going to have fun with the blackmail in the future," Natasha comments as Peter and Tony head over to the couch, arguing with MJ about video games even though the four year old hardly played any because his hands were too small for the controls.

"Way too much fun, but so am I. Peter and Tony in matching Halloween costumes will be our Christmas card this year," Bucky tells the spy who smirks and shakes her head before heading over to the kids and demanding that she play against MJ.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~

**"Not A Leash... Okay It's A Leash"**

Taking Tony anywhere is a nightmare. That statement is true on both adult and kid Tony because Tony in general gets distracted easily and well now that he's a kid, they might have lost him once or six times. Or more. It's mostly Clint's fault though and on one occasion, Bucky.

The solution to their problem?

"I am not putting a leash on my child," Loki says with a frown as he eyes the red colored leash that Clint is holding up with a grin. "He is not a dog."

"It's not a leash, dude," Clint says excitedly as he grabs a small backpack with a cute monkey and he clips the leash to it. "Hey, Hobbit, come here a sec!"

Tony grumbles as he gets off the couch and walks over to the archer with a pout while Loki watches everything with a raised eyebrow. Clint helps the kid put on the backpack and then clips it at the front so Tony can't shrug out of it and presents the final product to Loki who still doesn't look impressed by the invention.

"Cause a backpack makes it a whole lot better," Bucky says as he walks over to stand next to Loki. "That's still a leash."

"It's not a leash..." Clint insists as he looks at Tony who's trying to walk away, but Clint has a tight hold of the leash. "...okay yeah, it's a leash. But, hey! At least this way, the Hobbit won't get lost anymore!"

"If it were such a great invention, how come more parents aren't usin' it?" Bucky questions the dark blonde man as he crosses his arm across his chest.

Clint doesn't reply and Tony's whining and wanting to break free but he can't. Not until Loki steps forward and unclips the leash and Tony runs off back to his movie.

"Thank you for your idea, but we are not using it," Loki informs the archer as he walks off towards the child who's singing along to High School Musical.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~

**"Paint"**

"Steve, I'm bored," Tony says as he walks over to the blonde super soldier where he sits on the couch sketching in his journal.

"Well what would you like to do?" Steve asks the child as he sets his pencil down and gives his full attention to the four year old that's pouting. "How about you paint something? With your fingers?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Tony cheered and jumped excitedly and Steve chuckled at his enthusiasm.

It was often that it was just Tony and Steve alone, but the soldier cherished the little moments they did spend together. Today Steve had been left in charge of the four year old seeing as Nat, Bucky and Clint were on a mission, Sam was at the VA, Wanda and Vision had gone to a farmer's market, Thor and Loki were in Asgard and Bruce was down in his lab working on an important project.

"Alright, mo stoirín, let me go get the supplies and look for something for you to wear so you don't get your clothes dirty," Steve tells the child who nods and the blonde heads off to his art room to grab some supplies.

In the corner of Steve's art studio, was a small kids table where Tony would sit and draw with him. They'd gotten him various art supplies when he'd showed an interest. There was even a wall where Steve had hung up Tony's artwork. For a four year old, he could draw pretty good and it made him wonder if adult Tony had ever just drawn for the fun of it.

Steve grabs the kid friendly paint from a shelf along with poster paper, something to set on the floor and an old t-shirt of his that Tony used as a smock when he painted. He took the supplies back to the living room and set up everything while Tony put on the t-shirt and removed his shoes and socks. Last time he finger painted he ruined his shoes and Bucky had not been happy about that. Loki had just shrugged saying that it didn't really matter since Tony would be back to normal sometime soon.

"Alright, buddy, have fun," Steve tells him after pouring paint on containers to make it easier for him to dip his fingers into.

"Thank you!" Tony tells him as he kneels down on the ground and dips his whole hand in the red paint while Steve chuckled and shook his head fondly.

Tony's humming happily as he spreads paint all over his canvas, hands now covered in different colors. Steve watched him paint for a little while before his phone rang with an incoming call from Natasha. Steve frowned and told Tony that he needed to take a call before heading down the hall.

"Oopsies," Steve hears Tony say a few minutes later.

"Uh can you hold on a sec Nat? I think Tony did something," Steve tells the spy who chuckles on the other end but lets him go.

When Steve reaches the living room, he finds Tony covered head to toe in paint and he's not even sure how. There's blue and yellow paint in his hair, his cheeks are covered in red and his smock is basically a rainbow.

"Tony, what happened?" Steve asks him, unsure of whether he should laugh or be upset. Getting Tony clean of the paint would be a nightmare. It might be washable, but it was still a pain scrubbing it off skin and even then, it never really came off all the way on the first wash anyways. "Why does it look like someone dumped a giant paint bucket on you?"

"Um it exploded?" Tony tried telling Steve though he looked nervous as he brought a hand up to scratch his cheek and only smeared more paint on his face, the tip of his nose was now red and he even managed to get a drop of paint on his eyelashes.

"How?"

"Um like this?" Tony said and then brought his hands down on the paint and it did, in fact, explode. With the force of Tony's hands coming down on the paint, the paint went flying in all directions, but mostly on Tony.

"And what made you think that that was a good idea?"

"Um because?"

Steve brings his phone back up to his ear and sighs.

"Nat, can we wrap this up quickly? I need to get a certain four year old clean before either of his parents get home," Steve tells his friend who makes an amused sound on the other end.

"I want pictures."

"FRIDAY, take pictures and send them to Natasha, please?"

"On it, Captain," FRIDAY replies cheerily. "Done."

Steve hangs up his phone to the sound of Natasha and Clint laughing and Bucky cursing up a storm on the other end. Tony meanwhile had gone back to painting as if he weren't basically a human painting.

~ ~ ~ // ~ ~ ~

**"Selfies"**

"Why did your kid just send me a selfie?" Sam asks Bucky as he walks into the gym where Bucky and Steve were sparring.

"What?" Bucky asks as he grabs a towel to wipe off the sweat, looking confused as he shares a look with Steve who shrugs, he too just as confused.

Sam walks up to them with his phone and shows them the picture Tony had sent him. It was taken from a low angle and most of his face covered the screen, his eyes were cross and he was sticking his tongue out. There were cookie crumbs around his mouth and his hair was a mess. There was no text and the picture was sent through Natasha's phone.

It sends Steve and Bucky into hysterics as they stare at the picture. This child really was a gift.

The next selfie Tony sends is through Steve's phone and he sends it to the whole team this time. This time, the picture is of Tony with Mister Snuggles and the kid's wearing a pair of orange tinted glasses and a beanie that Peter had forgotten a few visits ago. It was adorable, but Steve didn't know when he'd forgotten his phone.

Tony loves Peter's phone because the teenager has cool games, videos and that one app that takes pictures with silly filters. So the next time the teenager's over, Tony sends them all a bunch of selfies with a dog filter, cat filter, flower crown, and a bunch of other ones that they all giggle at. Peter isn't even aware that the kid's hijacked his phone until he goes to pull it out of his pocket to call May and ask if she can stay for dinner.

"Has anyone seen my phone?" Peter asks the occupants in the room which are Clint, Thor, Sam and Steve.

"The kid's had it for the past hour. He's been sending us selfies, how did you just realize your phone was missing?" Clint asked the teen as he tossed Peter his phone where Tony's selfies were on display.

"The brat takes whoever leaves their phone out and sends selfies to everyone. He managed to send one to my mom yesterday," Sam explains and the others snicker.

"Huh. FRIDAY, where's Tony?" Peter asks the AI as he stands up, unsure of where the four year old had ran off to.

"Little boss is currently with Loki on his floor," FRIDAY replies and Peter thanks her before heading towards the elevator to go get his phone back.

When Peter reaches Loki's floor, he finds the mage sitting in his favorite arm chair with a book closed on his lap and an amused look on his face as he watches Tony who's sitting on the ground with not only Peter's phone but also Loki's.

"Um what is he doing?" Peter asks Loki as he watches the kid hold both phones up and make silly faces at the cameras.

"I believe he has discovered his new hobby, taking pictures of himself," Loki explains. "At least you did not walk in when he was video calling himself."

Peter giggles and it catches Tony's attention who looks up and grins sheepishly at the teenager.

"I found your phone," Tony tells him with a large grin, making himself look as innocent as possible.

"You found it?" Peter asks him as he goes over to sit next to the four year old who nods as he hands his phone back.

The Snapchat app is open and Peter sees that Tony had been having a conversation with both Ned and MJ.

 _'this kid is too cute i cant with this'_. Had been MJ's last response so Peter raised an eyebrow before he takes a picture of himself and Tony.

 _'gee you'll answer the spider baby but not me??? unbelievable'_. Peter writes and adds two broken heart emojis.

 _'cause he's likeable unlike u, Parker's_. MJ replies quickly.

 _'no worries Pete, I still like I'm'_. Ned joins in.

"Can I have it back? MJ was telling me something embarrassing about you," Tony asks the teenager.

"What?! No way, kid!"

Loki chuckles from behind them and goes back to reading his book.

"That's okay. FRIDAY, can you get Peter's Snapchat onto my mama's phone, please?" Tony asks the AI with a smirk as he looks at Peter with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"What?! No! FRIDAY," Peter whines.

"Alrighty that is enough Anthony, I am sure MJ will tell you whatever story about Peter she was going to tell you the next time you see her," Loki intervenes in the situation before the two boys can start arguing. It's a rare thing for the two to fight, they could all count on one hand the amount of times they have, but the two boys are stubborn and if they fight now, they won't make up for days.

"Boo," Tony pouts but gets up and goes to hand Loki his phone back. "FRIDAY, cancel that order."

"Understood little boss," FRIDAY chimes in.

"Mama, can I have ice cream, please?" Tony asks as he climbs onto Loki's lap and cuddles into the mage.

"Alright, child, I suppose you may," Loki says as he gets up with Tony in his arms. "Peter, would you like ice cream as well?"

"Oh yeah!" Peter exclaims as he gets up and follows Loki excitedly towards the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the response to the first one was so good i decided to make another :)
> 
> bought the new jonas brothers album today and it's so fucking good i'm crying. i've missed my boys and i cant believe they have new music out and i'm seeing them in concert this summer and 8 year old me would die


	39. Happy the Nanny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why can't FRIDAY watch him?"
> 
> "Because this is Tony and he needs human supervision, not an AI."

"Wait, what? How do you know I'm not busy?" Happy asks with a frown as he stares at Bucky who cocks an eyebrow in an 'yeah right' kind of way.

"I talked to Pepper and you're not. She's in meetings all day and with adult Tony not around, you're always free until you have to go get the Spider Brat from school," Bucky informs Happy who glared down at an oblivious four year old who's holding Bucky's metal hand while he sucks on a blue Ring Pop as he looks around the garage, a Spider-Man backpack on his back. "Look, I really need to go and Tony can't stay alone in the tower and May's at work so she can't watch after him."

"Why can't FRIDAY watch him?"

"Because this is Tony and he needs human supervision, not an AI."

"Fine, but you guys all owe me one," Happy eventually says with a long suffering sigh as he folds his arms across his chest.

"Yeah yeah, no worries." Bucky waves him off before kneeling down in front of Tony. "Alright kid, be good to Happy, if we're not back then he'll drop you off with Peter, alright?"

"Got it!" Tony exclaims happily as he pulls away his Ring Pop, lips and tongue a bright blue.

Bucky rolls his eyes affectionately and presses a quick kiss to Tony's forehead before running off to meet the team at the QuinJet. Meanwhile Tony just stands in his place and stares up at Happy who looks uncomfortable being with the kid alone.

"Can we play?" Tony asks him.

"No. Unlike you, I've got work to do, brat," Happy tells the kid as he walks towards the elevator with the four year old trailing behind him like a lost puppy.

"No you don't. Bucky just said that you got nothing to do?"

"Well I'm sure I'll find something."

Tony huffs as they get into the elevator where it takes them to the main lobby. Happy does not, in fact, find any work to do, but he makes Tony take a seat in one of the waiting areas and runs around pretending to work. When the clock hits 2:30 and the others aren't back yet, Happy sighs and motions for the kid, who'd been reading a book, to follow him.

"Where are we going?" Tony asks him. "Are we gonna go see Peter?"

"Yes. We're going to his school and then I'll drop the two of ya at his place because I've got a ton of work to do," Happy replies as they ride the elevator back down to the garage.

"No you don't."

"Brat."

The ride to Peter's school is quiet and a bit slow thanks to traffic, but they get there half an hour later and sit and wait in the car until the students start coming out five minutes later. Tony sits up in the backseat and presses his palms flat across the window which makes Happy grimace and mumbles something about dirty kids.

"It's Peter! I see Peter!" Tony shouts excitedly as he starts bouncing in his eat. "And MJ and Ned!"

Happy simply unlocks the doors and doesn't even stop the kid when he opens it and sprints out towards the teenagers.

"Peter! Hi!" Tony shouts as he runs towards his favorite crime fighting spider teen with his arms wide open and his backpack bouncing with every step.

"Hey there, little man!" Peter greets him happily as he bends down to scoop him up into his arms. "What are you doing here? Did you leave the tower again?"

"No! Silly, Peter. Happy's here and he's watching me, but he's not doing a very good job about it," Tony exclaims as he wraps his arms around Peter's neck, the teenager holding him on his hip with one arm as if he weighed nothing. "Hi Ned and MJ!"

"What's up, mini loser?" MJ greets him fondly.

"Hey, little T," Ned greets him with a large smile and high fives the four year old.

"You guys want to go get a burger?" Peter asks his friends. "I'm sure Happy will love to drive us."

They all laugh and head towards the car where they see Happy roll his eyes.

"What am I, a school bus driver?" Happy asks though there's a very faint hint of amusement in his tone that they all manage to catch because Happy may act all disinterested or annoyed by them, but they know he's got a soft spot for them.

Happy drives them to a local diner by Peter's apartment and then heads off, making them promise to stay out of trouble. By the time they finish eating, Tony is fast asleep on Peter's lap.

"Finally home?" May asks once Peter steps into the apartment, Tony half away in his arms with his head resting on the teen's shoulder. She's still in her work uniform which means she probably just got in as well.

"Yeah. Happy dropped us off at the diner and this one ate too much," Peter says with a small chuckle as he motions to the kid who looked to be in a food coma.

"Too much fries," Tony moans miserably.

"And milkshake. I told you not to get the large."

"But it was so good!"

May chuckled fondly and took the four year old from Peter who went to his room to leave his backpack while his aunt fussed over the boy in her arms. When Peter returns to the living room, May is settling down on the couch with Tony cuddled into her side as she puts on **The Emperor's New Groove**. Peter settled on Tony's other side as the movie began and sighed happily.

*

Peter wakes up wondering when he fell asleep. There's a warm weight on his chest and he opens his eyes to see a familiar head of brown curls and a tiny body shifting on top of him. There's a blanket draped over them and he feels so warm and cozy that he wants to go back to sleep, but there's voices coming from the kitchen; one's his Aunt May's and the others belong to Bucky and Loki.

Peter simply stands up with Tony in his arms, careful to not wake up the four year old as he approaches the kitchen where the adults are.

"Morning," Bucky greets him teasingly as they all look up when Peter walks in. "Have a nice nap?"

"The best. This kid is a nice cuddle buddy," Peter replies as he holds Tony a little tighter to himself. "Can I keep him?"

Loki and Bucky both snorted in amusement, though May could see the look in their eyes that practically screamed 'please do' and she understood them because someday having a kid around was the biggest pain in the ass you could possibly have, but it was also the best thing that could happen.

"Also, he smells good. What shampoo does he use?" Peter asks as he takes a whiff of Tony's hair. "Smells like strawberry."

"Stop smelling my kid, Parker," Bucky says as he stands up and carefully takes Tony from a very reluctant Peter who pouts, missing the warmth the kid had provided.

"No but seriously, what shampoo does he use?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really want to write a stevetony fic with peter as their kid but i'm literally blocked for new story ideas. might just toy around with the idea and make something fluffy because i live for fluff


	40. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 5 times Tony has a night are and someone comforts him + the 1 time that he comforts someone

1)

Nightmares are a common thing at Avengers Tower, well for everyone except Vision. They're not even sure the android has ever slept, but everyone at the tower has their own demons plaguing them in their sleep. For Tony though, the nightmares were more common and frequent than the rest, as a kid, it's no different.

His first nightmare happens a few days after he meets Peter for the first time, again. His night time routine is as normal as always; Bucky gives him a bath, dresses him, tucks him in bed before reading a chapter from whatever book they're on that week and then he's fast asleep.

Usually Tony can't ever remember what he dreams about, sometimes he remembers that Bucky is in his dream or that there's a bunch of cotton candy clouds around him.

This time when he dreams, he's somewhere dark and his chest hurts. It's hot and be calls out for someone to help him, but he can't scream out because of the pain. He's alone and so scared and he starts walking wanting to find someone or an exit. There's a bright light at the end and once he's out, all he sees are endless amounts of sand and sky. No one in sight for miles and he's not sure what the blue glowy thing on his chest is.

He wakes up to Bucky rubbing his back and trying to sooth him with comforting words, but he can practically hear his heart thumping in his ears and he's shaking from the fear.

"P-Papa!" Tony cries as he sits up and throws himself at Bucky with tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Hey, it's alright, kid. Shh, it's okay," Bucky coos as he holds Tony close to his chest and rubs his back, pressing kisses to his head repeatedly.

Tony's sobbing into the man's chest, wanting to cuddle closer to him but he was already pressed against him as far as he could and Bucky was already holding him tight enough without hurting him.

"Papa," Tony sobbed, clutching Bucky's shirt.

"Shh, it's okay kid. I'm right here and I won't let anyone hurt you, ever," Bucky promises him, pressing his lips to the child's temple. "Do you want to talk about your nightmare? It helps sometimes."

And so Tony tells him about the desert and the pain in his chest and how he was so scared. He feels Bucky tense for a brief second before he starts running his metal fingers through his hair soothingly and holds him to his chest like he doesn't want to ever let him go.

"I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, kiddo," Bucky whispers.

"Promise?" Tony asks him in a shaky tone as he pulls back enough to look him in his eyes.

"I promise."

And for the rest of the night, Tony sleeps in Bucky's arms feeling safe.

2)

His next nightmare happens not even a week later. This time he's on Nat's floor while his three main caretakers, Bucky, Steve and Loki, are out attending different businesses. The red head spy had offered to babysit and Tony had immediately agreed because Natasha was currently teaching him Russian and she made yummy Russian food.

He was having a great morning with her until lunch when she announced that he still had to take a nap. Tony had pouted and begged her to let him stay up, but all she had to do was raise her left eyebrow and look at him with something akin to boredom and he caved. She could be scary when she wanted too so he fell asleep on her bed with Mister Snuggles.

This time in his dream, there's a man. He's bald and looks at Tony creepily. Every smile and touch from the man made him shiver in fear. Dream Tony was sitting on a couch while the man loomed over him with a wide smirk, like the kind you see villains on TV give right before they do something bad. The man is talking, but Tony can't hear what he's saying, too panicked to do so since he can't move any part of his body. Suddenly the glowy thing in his chest was ripped out and that's when Tony started screaming in his sleep which startled Natasha who'd been gathering ingredients for some muffins she wanted to make.

She quickly heads down the hall to her room where she finds Tony sitting up in the middle of the bed with tears running down his cheeks and his brown eyes are open wide in fear as his whole body trembles.

 _"Oh kitten, did you have a bad dream?"_ She asks him in Russian, careful to keep her voice soft as she approaches the bed carefully.

"T-Tasha!" Tony chokes out as he crawls over to the Russian spy who pulls him onto her lap and holds him.

She starts singing to Tony, her voice soft and soothing in a way that instantly calms Tony down who relaxes in her hold and stops crying. She's always had a soft spot for Tony, considers him like a brother and has spent countless nights staying up with the man when neither can sleep and to have the four year old go through the same thing as his adult self, just tears her heart right down the middle.

"Do you want to tell me what it was about?" She asks, making him look up at her so she can wipe away his tears with her thumbs gently.

"There was a bald man and he was really creepy," Tony begins to say, eyebrows furrowed and Natasha just knows who he's talking about. "Is he real, Tasha?"

"He was, but he won't ever hurt you. He's dead," she tells him, straight to the point because the kid is smart and she's always treated him with more respect than an adult would normally treat a child because she gets that sometimes children just want to know the truth. "He did a lot of bad things, but Iron Man stopped him before he could do more harm to good people."

"I like Iron Man," Tony tells her with a small smile on his face that Natasha reciprocates. "He's so cool!"

"Oh yeah? You changing Spider-Man for a new hero?" She teases Tony who flushes and shakes his head no repeatedly.

"No, silly! Peter likes Iron Man lots too and he tells me lots of stories about Iron Man and Spider-Man fighting together. And FRIDAY shows me lots of videos," Tony explains as he reaches up to play with a strand of her hair, twirling it around on a small chubby finger.

"Can I tell you a secret? But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, got it?" Natasha asks him as she lowers her voice and turns super serious.

"I promise! I'm very good at keeping secrets!"

"Well, Iron Man's my favorite hero, too. He's saved me a lot of times when we're fighting the bad guys and he's one of my very best friends," Natasha tells him, catching movement from the corner of her eyes that makes her look up to see Bucky standing by the doorway with a smile on his face.

Natasha looks back down at the child to see him staring up at her with a wonder filled expression, like he can't believe that someone else likes Iron Man as well. At the start, back when Tony first got changed, they'd kept Iron Man away from their conversations and from Tony, unsure of how he would react. But then Tony had seen a video of Iron Man on the news one day and had started asking questions and so they'd decided to just talk about the hero and not the man inside the suit.

And so Bucky leaves the two as Natasha goes into detail about a story of the time Iron Man saved everyone's asses on the field.

3)

Sometimes Tony's nightmares are just regular nightmares that kids sometimes have which, as bad as it may sound, are the better kind. Because they can comfort him easier by telling him that the witch isn't going to eat him after fattening him up with candies ("Clint, why did you think that Hansel and Gretel was a good story?" Natasha had asked, sounding seconds away from murdering her friend. "How was I supposed to know the Hobbit would have nightmares?") because she doesn't exist.

"Steve!" Tony yells anxiously, the blankets over his head with Mister Snuggles under the covers with him. "FRIDAY, I want Steve, please."

"He's on his way, little boss," FRIDAY informs him and a few seconds later, his bedroom door is opening and the lights are being turned on as Steve walks in.

"Tony? What's going on?" Steve asks worriedly as he walks over to the kid. "Why are you under the covers, mo stoirín? You're going to suffocate yourself."

"There's a monster in my room!" Tony wails, reluctantly lowering the covers to look at Steve who went from worried to amused. "You're Captain America! You gots to save me!"

"Okay and why do you think there's a monster in your room?"

"Because I had a nightmare about a monster who wanted to eat me and he's probably here, Stevie!"

"Alright alright, calm down, mo stoirín. Where do you want me to look? I promise I'll get rid of the monster."

Tony points a small finger towards the closet, which the door was slightly open and Steve walked over while the child went back to hiding under the covers. To Steve, it suddenly felt like they were recreating a scene from Monster's Inc and he chuckled under his breath as he opened the door. Obviously, there was nothing there, but Steve made it a show to defeat whatever 'monster' was lurking with sound effects included since Tony was hiding under the covers.

"Alright mo stoirín, all done," Steve announces as he closes the closet door and walks over to the bed where he sits on the edge and waits for the child to lower the blankets. "Monster's all gone."

"You sure?" Tony asks him as he holds his beloved bear tight to his chest, brown eyes blinking up at him tiredly but Steve knew he would not fall asleep until he was sure no monsters would eat him in the middle of the night.

"Absolutely. Captain America defeated the monster, so time for a certain little boy to go to sleep," Steve tells him with a smile and Tony only hesitates for a bit before he lays down and the blonde man tucks him in. "Do you need anything? A drink or use the bathroom?"

"No. Can you tell me a story please?"

"Let's see. Have I told you a story about Bucky and I when we were younger?"

"No. I wanna hear it!"

"Sure thing. So when I was younger, I was really skinny and short..."

4)

Clint likes kids, he's basically a kid himself as everyone likes to remind him. He adores kid Tony, plays with him and fights with him like brothers tend to do, but they're basically partners in crime for almost anything. However, when the kid's upset, Clint doesn't know what to do so he normally just gets whoever else is closest to comfort the four year old. He's not good at comforting people, isn't good with serious situations most of the time and so when he stumbles upon the child tossing and turning in his sleep on the couch one afternoon while the others are down at the gym or out in the city, he's not sure what to do.

"FRIDAY?" Clint calls to the AI, eyes glued to the child who let out a small whimper in his sleep.

"Yes Agent Barton?" FRIDAY replies.

"Could you- Never mind. Just, how do the others deal with Tony's nightmares? Like, do they just wake him up or wait until he wakes up on his own?"

"On average, the others tend to wake up the little boss, but on the rare occasion he'll wake up on his own before someone can get to him," FRIDAY informs Clint who nods and walks towards the four year old.

"Okay, yeah, that sounds good," Clint mumbles to himself as he sits beside the kid and starts to shake his shoulder gently. "Hey kid, time to get up. Come on, it's just a bad dream."

It takes a few tries, but eventually the kid wakes up and just lays there with wide eyes and pale. And it's not fair that a four year old can't even get a peaceful sleep.

"Hey Hobbit, you with me?" Clint asks him softly, unsure on whether he should hug him or wait until the kid makes the first move. "You're at home with the Avengers in New York. It's raining outside and it's almost dinner time, which by the way, I'm getting pretty hungry over here. Don't know why the others like to have their gym sessions so close to dinner time and make me wait for some damn food."

"You owe a dollar," Tony says with a slight giggle as he looks up at Clint, the color returning to his face and the tears starting to dry on his face. "And I'm telling Bucky."

"You traitor," Clint whispers, glaring playfully at the kid who bursts into louder giggles "See if I ever sneak you in extra candy when the others aren't looking."

"But you steal all my candy! So technically the candy you give me is mine!" Tony argues with him as he sits up and gets on his knees to be at closer height with Clint.

"I do no such thing, Hobbit. You can't accuse someone of stealing when you have no proof."

"Do too! You stole my Halloween candy, Merida!"

"What?! That's insane."

And that's how the rest of the team find them, arguing over stolen candy and Tony on top of Clint who's laying on the couch with the four year old tugging at the archer's hair and poking his face.

5)

The first time Peter is there for one of Tony's nightmares is on a Saturday night when he's staying over. It's past midnight when Peter's just settling in bed next to the kid after having kicked Clint and Sam's asses at Mario Kart when FRIDAY alerts him to Tony's distress.

"Does this happen often? Should Bucky be informed?" Peter asks the AI as he struggles on what to do as Tony starts to move more and more, face scrunched up in discomfort and mumbling something under his breath too hard for Peter to hear despite his enhanced hearing.

"The little boss has been experiencing nightmares frequently as of late, they are easy to handle, but I could call in Sergeant Barnes if you would like," FRIDAY offers, sounding a bit worried herself.

"No, I-I got this, FRI," Peter reassures her as he turns on the small bedside table lamp that casts a bit of a brighter glow than the nightlight in the opposite side of the room.

Peter thought back to all the times he's had a nightmare and how Aunt May usually comforts him. When he was little, she would take him to the kitchen for a glass of warm milk and would then tuck him back in bed and sing to him until he fell asleep. He doubt he could take Tony to the kitchen without either Steve or Bucky waking up and Peter was definitely not a good singer, his shampoo bottle could attest to that. As he got older though, Aunt May would just sit with him and talk to him and sometimes Peter would tell her what his nightmares were about, but other times he didn't feel like talking. On the one time he'd had a nightmare in the tower before all this, Mr Stark had sat with them and they'd watched reruns of The Office until Peter felt calm enough to go back to sleep. He's not so sure that's such a good idea with a four year old. The kid could get pretty cranky in the mornings when he didn't get enough sleep.

"Hey spider baby, it's okay," Peter eventually says as he starts to stroke Tony's hair, hoping that the touch would be soothing enough to calm him down. "You've got your buddy Spider-Man here so you've got nothing to be afraid off. I'll kick anyone's as- butt," he corrects himself with a slight wince, "if they every hurt you because you're my baby brother and I love you and I don't like seeing you upset or hurt."

Tony stops moving around so much and eventually opens his eyes as Peter keeps stroking his hair. The kid's brown eyes meet Peter's and then a second later Tony is in Peter's arms crying quietly and mumbling something about scary aliens coming from a hole in the sky and Peter just knows what he's talking about so he hugs the kid a little tighter, unsure of what to say.

Eventually Peter settles for wrapping Tony in his favorite red blanket and rocks him to sleep. In no time the four year old is asleep again and Peter sighs in relief, glad he was able to calm Tony down and get him to fall asleep again.

He just wished he didn't have to deal with the nightmares so young.

+1)

It's one of those days where Tony wants to be glued to Loki's side and all but throws tantrums when the mage isn't within eyesight. Meaning it's a rough day for everyone, but a whole ass migraine for Loki. So when nighttime arrives and Tony begs to sleep with Loki, no one is surprised and Loki had already expected that so he'd had Tony's bear and blanket sent up to his floor. Loki did the child's bedtime routine, taking over for Bucky and settled the four year old in bed next to him at his usual time. He could have placed Tony in the guest room, but knew he would only sneak in during the night so he decided to save the kid the trouble of having to do so.

"Mama?" Tony asks from where he's laying on his side facing Loki who's reading a book.

"What is it darling?" Loki asks gently as he looks down at the four year old who was just starting to get over the nightmares from Malibu and Hydra attacking them.

"How come you and papa don't live together?"

"Because we just started dating, Anthony and we want things between us to be more solid before we move onto something more."

"But you guys love each other and you've been friends for years!"

Loki smiles fondly as he sets his book down and strokes the child's chubby cheek before replying, "We have, but being friends and being in a romantic relationship are two different things. We might be compatible as friends, but being in an actual relationship requires a lot more work, patience, understanding and getting comfortable with doing other things that we as friends couldn't do."

"Like what?"

"Like kissing, for example." And getting intimate, Loki thought. That had been a serious bridge to get over.

"Adults are so complicated. I never want to grow up."

Loki's smile turned a little sad, but he humored the child anyways before turning off the lights and settling in for the night.

Of course the nightmares don't stay away tonight, though it's not Tony who wakes up shaking and crying and clinging to the nearest person. This time it's Loki who wakes up hours later with a strangled gasp leaving his dry lips as he sits up so quick it makes him dizzy for a few seconds.

He'd had a nightmare about his time being Thanos' puppet and all the things he'd done that still haunted him despite having received the team's forgiveness countless times. He blamed himself for everything, of course he did. After centuries of being Thor's shadow and never being good enough for Odin and finding out the truth, Loki had finally just snapped and falling under Thanos' control had been so easy.

"Mama?" Tony mumbles sleepily as he sits up, rubbing at his eyes and trying to look at Loki through the darkness of the room. "Are you okay?"

Loki took in a few shaky deep breaths, fingers glowing a faint green itch his magic like they always did when he felt like he was losing control of his emotions. He hated it because it made him feel like all that time spent perfecting it had been in vain and he felt like a newbie trying to get ahold of his power.

"Mama?"

"I-It's nothing, darling. Go back to sleep," Loki tells him as he curls his fingers until his hands are fists, heart still hammering away in his chest which was making it a bit difficult to breath.

He was startled when Tony decided to sit on his lap and curl up on it, Tony arms wrapping around Loki's thin frame as best he could and settling his head on the mage's chest, right over his heart.

"Papa usually cuddles me when I have a nightmare. Makes me feel safe," Tony explains and Loki is quick to wrap his arms around the small body on his lap and just hold him. "Papa also says that sometimes talking about our nightmares works. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"It is not something you need to worry about, darling. They are just nightmares, they can not hurt me anymore," Loki replies, bending his head down to bury his face in the child's dark hair and inhaling his strawberry scented shampoo. "I want you to remember that. Nightmares can not hurt you."

"I love you, mama," Tony says as he pulls back to look up at Loki who was smiling though his eyes were still filled with tears.

"I love you too, darling. More than you could ever know."

Tony giggled and cuddled back into his mama, happy that he was able to help out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been over a week since my last update, but I've been BUSY lately.
> 
> also I've been in a post Civil War kind of mood lately because some days I'm still petty (let's not start World War 3 in the comments tho, thank u) it's mostly been a lot of Bucky/Tony fics


	41. Let It Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Can I play in the snow later?" Tony asks him as Bucky sets him down on the table before moving to search for clothes for the kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place sometime during the Christmas chapters, I forgot I even had this so sorry for the delay 😂😂

"Good morning little boss!" FRIDAY chirps happily as Tony sits up on his bed and stretches.

"Morning FRIDAY," Tony responds in between yawns as he looks around his room with a slight frown, having forgotten that they were currently at the New Avengers Facility.

As FRIDAY raised the blinds and Tony turned to face the window, he let out an excited gasp at all the snow covering the ground. He stumbled out of bed and pressed his face and hands to the cold glass, wide eyes taking in the scene in front of him. They'd had to stay at the compound over night because it was starting to snow and no one had wanted to make the trip back to the city with that kind of weather, but Tony hadn't thought that it would snow this much. Maybe Bucky and Loki would let him and Peter play out in the snow later.

"FRIDAY, is anyone else up?" Tony asks as he moves away from the window, rushing around his room and trying to look for something to wear, but Bucky was always in charge of that and he had no idea what to even look for.

"It appears that everyone aside from Agent Barton are awake," FRIDAY tells him. "Would you like me to call someone for you?"

"Please, FRI."

A minute later Bucky walks into the room with a smile and Tony runs over and jumps into the man's awaiting arms, laughing in glee as he's spun around before Bucky settles him on his hip and kisses his temple.

"Can I play in the snow later?" Tony asks him as Bucky sets him down on the table before moving to search for clothes for the kid.

"For a little bit, kid, I don't want you getting sick, alright?" Bucky informs Tony who cheers and starts jumping on the bed.

"Hey! No fair! How come I can't jump on the bed but he can?" Peter asks as he walks into the room and pouts. "Is it 'cause he's little and spoiled?"

"Hey! I'm not spoiled! I'm just very loved," Tony argues with Peter as he stops jumping and turns to glare at the teenager who giggles and rushes over to tackle the kid to the bed carefully and starts tickling him. "Hahaha! Pete, stop!"

Bucky turns around to watch the two fondly and shakes his head.

"I don't want you monkeys jumping on any bed and the next time I catch either of ya doin' it, I'm placin' you in a corner with books on your heads," Bucky warned the two who stopped trying to tickle each other to look at Bucky with horrified looks. "Now, I need to dress the child and stop tickling him before he pees himself."

"I won't pee myself, Bucky," Tony insists with a slight flush to his cheeks as both the teen and adult look at him with amused looks. "Again."

"Alright, let's get you dressed so we can eat the waffles that Wanda made before I can let you two play out in the snow."

"Yes! I love playing in the snow. We'll make snow angels and snowmen and-" Peter listed off, Bucky tuning him out as he changed Tony into warm clothes before ushering the two out into the communal kitchen where the rest of the team was waiting on breakfast.

Natasha was cutting up fruit while Steve was in charge of making the coffee and tea and Wanda in charge of the waffles.

"Morning!" Tony greets everyone excitedly.

"Morning Tony," they all greet back fondly and smile as Tony heads over to a chair and sits on it.

Peter and Bucky walk in a minute later, shoving each other playfully and only stopping when Steve glared at the pair. Natasha shook her head and placed a bowl of strawberries and blueberries in front of Tony who thanked her and started eating his fruit right away.

"What do you plan on doing today, Tony?" Natasha asks the four year old as they all sit around the table to eat their breakfast.

"Peter and I are gonna go play in the snow!" Tony replies excitedly, half chewed waffle in his mouth and Bucky and Loki share a look while Peter and Wanda giggle at his forgotten manners. "And we're gonna make snowmen!"

"Lame," Clint says with a playful scoff. "Snowball fights are way better, Hobbit, so I challenge you and the spider brat over here to a duel."

"Oh, you're on, old man!" Peter exclaims as he smirks at Clint.

"Alright children, how about you finish eating first," Steve suggests as he takes a sip of his orange juice. "You can keep discussing your war plans after we all finish eating."

"Alright mom," Clint teases and it sends half the table into giggles and the other half into looks of 'wow, like I haven't heard that joke before, a hundred times'. "Anyone else joining our great battle?"

"Aye! I have heard of this fight with balls of snow, but I would love to partake in this Midgardian custom," Thor speaks up in his usual booming voice, this time heightened by his excitement to go out there with them and play in the snow.

The rest of breakfast was spent with Peter, Tony and Clint arguing about teams and how unfair and uneven it would be if Clint and Thor were on the same team and then Tony argued about how unfair it would be if he was placed in a team with Clint while Peter and Thor, who had super strength and all that, were placed in a team together.

"Super strength that they will be dialing down because I will not have a bruised child, are we clear?" Loki warns his brother and Peter who promise to not be so rough.

After breakfast, Peter takes Tony to get him into his snow gear while the others clean up the kitchen and then they meet Clint and Thor outside. There's nearly a foot of snow outside, which Clint teases Tony about being careful to not get buried in it.

"I'm not that small," Tony argues as he bends down to grab a handful of snow.

"I'm pretty sure I showed you what a Hobbit is, you're tiny," Clint fires back and Tony glared and throws a snowball at Clint which hits the archer square in the face and Peter bursts into loud giggles while Thor looks like a kid in a candy shop.

"You are so dead," Clint says as he grabs a handful of snow and starts to chase Tony around who starts screaming.

"No worries spider baby! I'll save you!" Peter shouts as he too grabs some snow and Chase's after Clint.

Pretty soon there's an all out war of snowballs and It attracts the attention of Sam, Wanda and Steve who soon join in on the fight.

*

"Kids, time to come in!" Bucky shouts from the door nearly two hours later. "Mom made hot chocolate!"

"James!" They hear Loki shout from inside before the mage is using his magic to push Bucky into the snow.

"Ooh, dad's in trouble," Clint jokes and Peter and Tony giggle as they rushed towards the ex HYDRA assassin.

"I want hot chocolate!" Tony cried excitedly and Bucky picked him up.

"You gotta change first and then we'll have hot chocolate," Bucky informs the kid who pouts a bit but nods.

Once changed in dry and warm clothes, Peter and Tony sit together on the couch with their cups of hot chocolate and a blanket over their laps. Loki and Bucky join the two, sitting on either side of them so they were in the middle and had FRIDAY put on a movie.

"I wanna see The Grinch!" Tony exclaims, nearly spilling his drink in the process.

"Careful, Anthony," Loki chides him with a small smile, using his magic to keep the drink in place.

"Oops." Tony giggled and settled back against the couch.

Tony falls asleep halfway through the movie, cuddled into Peter's side and the teenager falls asleep leaning into Bucky's side. The two adults simply share soft smiles over them and focus on the rest of the movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got 5 different stories started and I can't fucking work on anything, I even have a Female Tony fic started with Peter as her and Steve's biological kid and it's somewhat canon until The Winter Soldier but it's kinda frustrating to have to rewrite so many movies to fit in SteveTony.
> 
> I hope to have a new story out soon whether it's SteveTony or TonyBucky or maybe all three ??


	42. Not A Happy Spider Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I do not ever want a repeat of this, do you understand me?"
> 
> "Perfectly clear," Bucky says and the others nod and Loki walks away. "Anyone know how to get a four year old to forgive you?"

"Alright kids, time to start cleaning up!" Miss Karen informs the kids in a cheery tone as she claps her hands.

Tony starts putting all the markers he used back in the little plastic box and gathers his drawings for his family. Teddy had left early because he had a dentist appointment and Tony had missed his friend, but luckily the rest of the day had gone by quickly and now he would be going home as soon as Bucky or someone else in his family picked him up.

Once three o'clock hits, kids start leaving. Parents come in and their kids run up to them, excited to tell them about their day and Tony sits patiently at his table and waits. But soon enough, he's the last kid in the room and Miss Karen is frowning and looking worried. She calls Bucky's, Loki's and Steve's cell phones since they're the three main caretakers who drop off and pick up Tony from daycare, but they don't answer.

"Sweetie, do you know anyone else's number? Maybe someone else can come pick you up," Miss Karen says as she kneels in front of an upset four year old who's backpack is by his feet and he's glaring at the table. "Natasha? Clint?"

"Clint and Tash have been away on a mission since yesterday and Brucie is in India," Tony responds with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Anyone else we can call? It's been almost an hour, sweetie."

"Peter, but he has a decathlon practice today and Aunt May works at the hospital. Oh! Pepper! She's my auntie and she works here!" Tony tells her excitedly and Miss Karen's eyes widen slightly before nodding and heading off to call the CEO of Stark Industries.

Pepper arrives not even five minutes later, walking into the room quickly and she coos when she spots the miserable four year old sitting all alone and with silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Tony, oh baby," Pepper says softly as she approaches the four year old who bolts out of his seat and runs up to her, sobbing and with his arms up. The CEO quickly picks him up and tries to calm him down, but he's so upset that he's starting to hyperventilate now. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here and the others got called in for a mission, but they didn't mean to forget you honey. Bucky thought they'd be back before you got out."

"Thanks for coming, Miss Potts," Miss Karen says as she walks up to them with Tony's backpack, a sad smile on her face.

"No, thank you for calling me. They got called in this morning and probably didn't think whoever they're fighting would take this long, otherwise I would have been here quicker," Pepper tells the teacher who shakes her head.

"It's no problem, I'm just glad we were able to get a hold of someone."

Pepper takes Tony up to her office, telling her assistant to get him a sandwich and juice from the cafeteria before setting him down on the couch.

"You want to help me work for a bit? Watch me yell at people in a meeting?" Pepper asks the four year old who giggles slightly at the last part and she smiles as she runs a hand through his messy hair. "But first, you're going to eat something and tell me all about your day and then we'll work, got it?"

"Got it."

Pepper's assistant arrives with the food Pepper asked for plus a bag of chips which she winks at Tony who giggles and thanks her.

Tony has fun with Pepper, but he falls asleep an hour later on her couch while she was on the phone and he'd been reading a book.

*

Bucky ran into Pepper's office still in his gear and a cut on his forehead that was still bleeding and a black eye. Pepper resists the urge to fuss over him and instead lets him go over to Tony who was oblivious to the new presence in the room.

"How was he?" Bucky asks her quietly, gently taking the book away from Tony and stuffing it in his backpack.

"Pretty upset," she tells him honestly, a sad smile on her face. "I told him that you guys had been called out since this morning, but you know him, he's stubborn."

Bucky snorts a little because boy is the kid stubborn. Steve likes to point out the fact that the two are pretty similar in that trait and even likes to joke and say that Tony's biologically his. And wouldn't that be the weirdest thing in the world. And he's technically old enough to be Tony's grandfather.

"We've got a lot of making up to do," Bucky says softly as he picked up the four year old, trying not to wake him up, but Tony's eyes snapped open and he frowned when he saw Bucky. "Hey kid, I'm sorry about today. It wasn't our intention to forget you, but we really thought it wouldn't take long."

Tony simply shrugged and wiggled around until Bucky sighed and set him down on the ground. Pepper watched in amusement as the child shrugged on his backpack and avoided looking at Bucky the whole time.

"Be good, sweetie," Pepper tells Tony as she kneels down in front of him and fixes his rumpled shirt and smooths down his wild curls. "Don't give them such a hard time."

Tony shrugged but kissed Pepper's cheek in goodbye and left the office with Bucky following after him after having thanked Pepper. When they reach the communal floor, Loki's back from wherever he'd gone off to a few days ago and Tony immediately runs up to the mage who picks him up.

"Hello, Anthony. Have you had a nice day?" Loki asks as the four year old buries his face into the prince's neck. "Anthony?"

"T-They f-forgot me, mama!" Tony sobbed and Bucky flinched as Loki looked up to glare at him

"Uh we can explain," Bucky says quickly as Steve, Wanda and Sam walked out from the kitchen as soon as they heard the kid crying. "We were called in this mornin' to deal with some wannabe and didn't think it'd take all fuckin' day-" "Language," Steve chides halfheartedly. "-and Tony was left in the daycare for an hour until Pepper was called in and we feel so fuckin' awful, Lokes."

Loki sighed and pointed at the jar sitting on the kitchen counter that was filled with coins and all sorts of dollars; there's even a hundred dollar bill in there because Clint had needed change and decided to ransack the swear jar. Bucky walked over and put in two dollars for his f-bombs and watched as Loki talked to Tony in a hushed voice. Tony nods and once he's placed on the floor, rushes towards the elevator that FRIDAY already has open and waiting for him.

"He is angry, but it will pass soon enough" Loki tells them sounding a bit apologetic even though they can see that he's angry as well. "And I do not entirely blame you, but you should have had a plan b in case you did not make it back in time. Just because you think a battle will be easy, it does not indicate that it will. Many things could go wrong during the mission. I do not ever want a repeat of this, do you understand me?"

"Perfectly clear," Bucky says and the others nod and Loki walks away. "Anyone know how to get a four year old to forgive you?"

"Nope, but with Loki all you have to do is basically sweet talk him," Sam teases Bucky who glares at the man. "No but seriously, at least you and Loki aren't together, otherwise I'm pretty sure you'd be sleeping on the couch for the next week."

"You sure Tony isn't your and Loki's kid biologically?" Steve asks as he turns to give his best friend a shit eating grin. "You sure you didn't meet a Lady Loki way back in '69?"

"Funny, but Tony ain't my kid and I did not know Lady Loki or Loki back then."

The others snickered as Bucky walked towards the elevator to go find his little family. FRIDAY takes him to Loki's floor where he finds the two cuddling on the couch and watching a movie. Tony doesn't even acknowledge him as he steps into the room and Loki smiles softly at Bucky who sits on the mage's free side.

"I had FRIDAY order our usual for dinner," Loki informs him and Bucky nods. _"Figured the three of us could eat dinner together so you can try getting back into his good side."_

 _"He's stubborn, doll. I'll be surprised if he forgives me before bedtime,"_ Bucky replies back in Russian, Tony still not knowing enough to catch even half of their conversation.

Tony is quiet during dinner, refusing to make eye contact with Bucky who wants nothing more than to hold his little boy and say sorry over and over again. Sure Tony's gotten mad at him and everyone else in the tower a few times, but never to the point where Bucky's felt like he's failed the kid.

Loki, probably as if sensing Bucky's thoughts, reaches over to grasp his hand and give it a small squeeze. They communicate silently in the way that makes the rest of the team mad when they do it during meals. Loki raises his eyebrows- _'are you okay?'_ \- and Bucky gives a slight shake of his head- _'no, I just want Tony to forgive me. I feel so fuckin' guilty.'_ \- and Loki sighs- _'I know and he will, James.'_.

"Mama, I'm full," Tony says after awhile, voice quiet and he looks up at Loki who sighs quietly because Tony's plate was still more than half full.

"Alright Anthony, go get ready for your bath," Loki tells the child who runs down the hall to the room he has on Loki's floor.

"He's stayin' here?" Bucky asks Loki who nods.

"Yes, but we talked about this at the start of the week, James. Anthony is spending the next two nights here," Loki reminded Bucky who apologized to the prince who shook his head and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Just stay until his bedtime, he is starting to come around, trust me." With a final wink, Loki stood up and headed after the four year old and Bucky stayed back to clean up after dinner.

After cleaning up, Bucky heads down the hall towards Tony's bedroom and stands by the doorway where he can hear Loki singing softly in the bathroom as he bathes the four year old who's humming along. He smiles and closes his eyes to better enjoy Loki's singing.

"Mama?" Tony speaks up suddenly.

"Yes Anthony?" Loki responds, pausing his singing to give his undivided attention to the kid.

"Is papa sad? Did I make him sad?"

"No, Anthony, you did not make him sad. He is upset, but only because of what happened today," Loki replies honestly and Bucky looks down at his feet as he waits for Tony's next reply.

"I know he's sorry, but it was scary when no one came for me. Thought everyone had forgotten me. I know they didn't mean too, though."

"Your anger is still justified though, so do not feel bad for having been angry at them."

"I don't know what that means, but I forgive them. Only if they promise to never do it again though."

Bucky shook his head fondly and walked into the bathroom where Tony looked up at him and smiled. He gladly returned it and knelt down in next to Loki.

"I'm really sorry, котенок," Bucky says as he strokes the kid's chubby cheek. "You know we would have never forgotten you on purpose."

"I know," Tony says quietly as he looks up at Bucky with big tear filled eyes that breaks his heart. "Cause you love me and Tasha says that people make mistakes and sometimes you end up hurting those you love." Tony shrugs as he looks down at the soap filled water. "And I know you love me and I know you feel guilty. And I love you lots too and I don't like being mad at you, feels ugly."

Both Bucky and Loki chuckle at that, though their laughs come out sounding slightly shaky and Bucky is surprised by the amount of emotion Loki is showing. It's not that Loki's heartless, they all know he's secretly got a big heart and that he's like Tony, they love too much but the world has been much too cruel to them, which is why they've built up their walls so high and locked tight. But Bucky likes it when Loki's vulnerable and comfortable enough to show more than his usual poker face and this kid sitting in front of them has brought out the most in him.

"It does, does it not?" Loki agrees as he rinses off the shampoo on Tony's head.

Tony giggles and nods, his eyes squeezed shut and head tilted back to avoid getting soap in his eyes. It's happened one too many times and Tony would not like a repeat of that thank you very much.

Bucky wraps Tony in a fluffy towel and carries him to the bedroom while Loki stays back to clean up the mess before he joins them in the room and helps Bucky dress the child.

"Go brush your teeth and then come back so we can tuck you in and read you a story," Bucky tells the kid as he finishes dressing the four year old who's now in Captain America pajamas.

"Okay!"

And Bucky can finally relax and breath now that things are okay. Boy was it a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a chapter away from beginning to write the last four chapters (The Back To Normal Story Arc) and i wanna cry ;-;
> 
> Also, in other news, I am trying to figure out how I want Book 3 to go. It's not a direct sequel, but it's more of a how they would cope with Tony having to grow up all over again because the de-aging is permanent but it still ties in with this one? So like it's not a sequel, but it kinda is?? You'll understand it once you read it, I promise


	43. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the 5 times they try to have their first date + the 1 time they get it right

1.

The first time they make plans to go on their first date, they get ruined because of course the villain of the week decides to show up and wreck havoc across New Jersey.

The day starts off normal. It's sunny that morning and Loki wakes up to find Anthony in bed with him sprawled across the rest of the bed face down and a thumb in his mouth to which the prince grimaces and gently tugs it away. He's not sure when the habit started, but so far it's been hard to break.

He's just about to get out off bed when there's a knock on his door and he motions for FRIDAY to let whoever is out there know that they can come in. The door opens and James steps into the room, gaze immediately landing on Anthony who's still fast asleep and unaware of the new person in the room.

"When did he sneak in here?" James asks Loki who sits up on his bed.

"At around midnight. Said he got scared and wanted to sleep in here," Loki explains with a slight shrug as he turns to face the four year old and runs a hand through his hair. "Luckily I was still awake and FRIDAY had informed me he was on his way."

"Thankfully we have FRIDAY or else I'd be running around the tower on the brink of a heart attack."

Loki gave a soft chuckle, missing the way James stared at him with heart eyes. He wasn't missing anything new though, according to everyone in the tower, James has been giving him that look since the week they met.

"So it's been pointed out by Nat and Steve that we've been together for over a week and we still haven't gone on a date," James says a little nervously. "I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner tonight? Steve will watch the kid."

"Sounds like a lovely plan," Loki replies with a smile and James leans in to peck his lips.

"Good, be ready to go by seven."

-

Bucky picks him up at exactly seven and it takes everything in him to not push Loki up against a wall and kiss him until they're both breathless and dinner is forgotten. His boyfriend is in an all black suit, not that he wears anything other than black (unless he's Lady Loki, she's surprisingly fond of the color pink), but Bucky is always left amazed at how fucking gorgeous Loki looks in anything in that color.

"Are we leaving anytime soon or are you going to just stand there and drool?" Loki asks him with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk on his face.

"Oh uh yeah! We're leaving, it's just, you look amazing. I mean you always do, but yeah..." Bucky trails off awkwardly and Loki chuckles fondly as he walks up to his boyfriend.

"I feel flattered, but we should go before I decide to take this back to my bedroom."

Bucky grabbed Loki's hand and the two stepped onto the elevator that took them down to the garage.

Their date was going great so far. Bucky had managed to get reservations at a nice restaurant and they'd just ordered their food when their phones go off with a familiar ping; it was a call to assemble.

"Can't you guys on without us?" Bucky asked Steve through the phone, a frown on his face as Loki watched and sipped his wine like he was hearing some good 'tea' as Peter called it. "Alright. We'll be there quick."

"I assume the Captain needs our assistance?" Loki asks his boyfriend who nods, the frown still on his face as he looked at Loki apologetically.

"Yeah, I'm sorry our date got ruined. Apparently Doom is at it and the Fantastic Four are off the grid again," Bucky explains as the two stand up.

"It is no problem, James. We will just try this again sometime soon."

Unfortunately that wouldn't be the first time their date night gets ruined.

*

2.

Apparently fighting Doom and his doombots takes practically all night. By the time they're done, it's nearly five in the morning and they're all kind of really exhausted.

"How about we have a breakfast date?" Bucky suggests as he wraps an arm around Loki's waist and pulls him close, careful to not hurt him with the many weapons he carries around, the two watching Steve and the others round up the remains of Doom's bots. "And then head home and sleep before Peter brings the kid back."

"Alright," Loki agreed as he turned his head to kiss Bucky's cheek in a rare act of PDA. Bucky blamed it on the exhaustion since Loki tended to get affectionate when he was tired.

"Hey guys! We're headin' out! You got everything under control?" Bucky asked the team as he walked over to them with a grin.

"Uh where are you going? You are not leaving us with this mess just so you can go get laid, Barnes," Clint argued and Natasha and Sam both rolled their eyes and Wanda used her magic to throw a screw from one of the bots at the archer.

"At least I'm gettin' some," Bucky argued. "But no, our date got interrupted last night so I asked Lo out for breakfast."

"You guys go ahead, Buck, we've got things under control here," Steve reassured him with a smile.

"Thanks, Cap."

Bucky and Loki were just about to head out when Fury and Hill walked over to the team and called them back.

"You don't exactly need us here nor do you need the whole team for a debrief, so why are you calling us back?" Bucky asked as he stood behind his boyfriend with his arms wrapped around him, chin resting on Loki's shoulder.

"I need you all for a debriefing of your next mission, now. The Shield agents will take care of this fucking mess," Fury replied in a monotone voice as he eyed all of them. "So cancel whatever mother fucking plans you had for the rest of the day because you'll be heading out as soon as we're done."

"Guess I better call May and Peter then," Bucky says with a resigned sigh and then whispers in Loki's ear, "I promise we'll go on that date soon, doll."

"I know we will, even if we have to wait until our Anthony is back to his adult self," Loki replies as he pats Bucky's arms in reassurance.

*

3.

The next time they plan to go on their first date is three days before their three week anniversary. They've got plans, this time Loki was planning on taking them to Paris for a nice evening. The perks of having a boyfriend with magic, Bucky thinks. It was meant to be a romantic evening, a first for both of them who haven't had much experience with actual relationships.

Of course, nothing ever goes their way and just before they leave, Tony and Peter go missing.

"Where are my sons?" Loki asks in a cold angry voice which makes the rest of the team shiver as the mage crowds up against one of the guys who'd taken both boys. They'd managed to capture him three hours after Karen and FRIDAY had alerted them to having lost contact with both boys.

"Why should I tell you?" The guy asked in a challenging manner, clearly trying to show that he wasn't afraid but they could all see right through him, smirking when the guy flinched as Loki's fingers glowed with his seidr.

"Because we promise you a quick and painless death if you tell us now," Bucky spoke up as he stood next to Loki, twirling a knife around in a casual yet still threatening manner.

"So either you tell us now or we dump your body in the river," Natasha says as she stands next to the couple, the three making for a very dangerous trio.

"Remind me to never get on their bad side," Clint tells Wanda and Sam quietly and they both nod in agreement as they watch with slightly wide eyes.

The guy doesn't say anything, but Bucky points the tip of his knife to his throat and he's spilling everything he knows.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Natasha says in fake politeness as she smiles at the man before rushing off after her team.

They find the teenager and four year old in an abandoned warehouse surrounded by more of the men that took them, tied up and knocked out thanks to a strong drug. While the others kick names and take ass, Loki rushed over to his boys and untied them.

"Come on, boys," Loki says softly as he uses his magic to get rid of whatever drug's in their system. "Time to go."

"Mom?" Peter slurred out as he blinked up at Loki with his eyes glossed over with the effects of whatever had managed to knock out the enhanced teen.

"Time to go," Loki repeated, unsure if his slip was due to the drugs or it was intentional. Either way it flooded his insides with warmth. "Come on."

Peter sat up and swayed slightly, but the mage sat next to him to support his weight. Loki gathered Tony into his arms, the teenager letting out a small whimper at the sight, probably feeling guilty that he wasn't able to protect his spider baby.

"There is no need to feel guilty, Peter. I know you did your best," Loki reassured him as the teen curled up into his side and stroked Tony's hair with jerky movements. "Besides, you can not be exposing your secret."

"I don't care 'bout that when it comes to keepin' 'im safe," Peter slurred out.

Loki isn't good at comforting people, so he's thankful when James rushes over to them and hugs Peter tight.

"You're not hurt, are ya?" James asks as he holds Peter at arm's length to search for any cuts or bruises.

"No, jus' really tired," Peter replies, eyes starting to slip shut again.

"They will be alright, James. I managed to get the remainder of the drugs out, so Anthony should be waking up soon," Loki explains to his boyfriend who nods.

"We should take them to the tower, the others have this handled and Bruce is waitin' to check them over."

Maybe they still haven't gone on their first date, but Loki would do anything to keep his family safe.

*

4.

"Anthony's sick," Loki says as she walks into James's room where the soldier was just about to get ready for their date later that day.

"What?" James asks as he turns to face his girlfriend with a slight frown, noticing that she's still dressed in the too large t-shirt and leggings from that morning, her hair up in a messy bun.

"Bruce says it could be some sort of twenty four hour bug, so he is being kept there for monitoring for the rest of the day and night," Loki explains tiredly as she walks over to her boyfriend who opens his arms for her and she gladly accepts the hug and comfort he's offering.

"We can't catch a break, can we?" James teases as he kisses the top of her head, inhaling her sweet scent of lavender.

"No, it seems not. Come, our son needs us."

When they reach the medical wing, the four year old is laying on a medical bed fast asleep hooked up to a few machines. Bruce is at the computer looking over the blood work and he looks up when the couple walk in.

"How is he?" James asked as he walks over to Anthony and leans down to press a kiss to the kid's forehead.

"It's just a small infection. I've got him on some antibiotics and he should be good to go in a day or so. Thankfully it was caught on time," Bruce explains with a slight smile. "Sorry your date keeps getting cancelled."

"Perks of being superheroes and parents," Loki jokes and the other two chuckle.

Tony wakes up two hours later with a slight fever and throws up in a bucket. Loki sits with the child and rubs his back while James goes off to fetch his bear and favorite blanket.

"I wanna leave, mommy," Tony cried, trying to rip out the IV line but Loki stops him from doing so.

"I know darling, but you are sick and Bruce wants you to stay here until you are better," Loki explains softly, running a hand through Anthony's hair. "Once James comes back we can watch movies together."

"And eat popcorn?"

"Nope, sorry little man," Bruce says as he walks into the room, an apologetic smile on his face. "You're little tummy can't handle junk food right now. Steve's upstairs making something light for you to eat."

Loki chuckles at the puppy dog eyes the child gives the doctor who shakes his head.

"Nope, sorry kid, not falling for that."

When James returns with Anthony's things, the three quickly settle on the bed and have FRIDAY put on a movie for them. The child falls asleep halfway through and leaning on Loki.

"Will we ever be able to go on our date?" James wondered as he sat on the couch in a corner of the room with Loki on his lap.

"We'll get it eventually," Loki mumbles tiredly as she rests her head on James's shoulders and closes her eyes. It's still much too early to go to bed, but she's just so tired after the day they've had.

"I know we will and when we do, it'll be the most romantic thing ever."

*

5.

They try again once after Tony's feeling better and things have been quiet on the villain side, so Loki and Bucky make plans to go to a drive in theater to catch an old movie, but of course, as fate would have it their plans get ruined. This time it's mother nature who gets in the way and Loki's own immune system.

It'd been raining softly all morning with storms predicted for later that afternoon and Bucky hadn't seen much of his girlfriend so when he asked FRIDAY where she was, the AI informed him that Loki was in her room and that she felt under the weather. Bucky quickly raced to her side and found his girlfriend buried under a mountain of blankets.

"Lo? Are you alright, doll?" Bucky asked gently as he sat on the edge of her bed, pulling back the blankets a bit to be able to see her face, not even surprised when he finds blue skin. She didn't get sick very often, but when she did, it tended to mess with her magic. "How bad are you feeling?"

"I'm sorry," Loki says instead with a hoarse voice as she stares up at her boyfriend with sad eyes.

"No, that's not what I want. I want to know how you're feelin' physically, not emotionally. I don't care about our date right now, Lo, I want to know what I can do to make you feel better."

"Just do not let Anthony come in. It is not contagious, but I have no idea how my powers might react. I nearly froze the window until it shattered earlier," Loki explains, sounding a bit sad and Bucky knows that she still struggles with the Frost Giant side of her, how she's not comfortable in her own skin most days.

"Alright, but if you need anything have FRIDAY call me up and I'll be here quickly."

Loki nods and Bucky leaves her room reluctantly, but he knows that there's not anything that he can do to make her feel better. Regular medicine doesn't work on her and Bruce and Tony haven't been able to figure out antibiotics that could combat whatever type of illnesses Loki and Thor could come down with.

"Papa, where's mommy?" Tony asked as soon as Bucky reached the communal floor, holding his arms up for the soldier who picked him up and kissed his cheek.

"Sorry kid, mommy's sick today," Bucky tells him. "But she sends lots of kisses."

"She's sick?" Natasha asked from where she was sitting next to Clint who was playing a video game.

"Yeah and you know how unstable her magic gets. Said she nearly froze the window earlier."

Clint snorted at that and then whined as he lost the game, huffing and pouting which made Tony giggle.

"No date again?" Steve asked when he saw Bucky as he walked into the room with a bowl of popcorn and another with chips. "Did the rain ruin your plans?"

"Well yeah, but Loki's sick so it might be awhile until we can reschedule again."

"It took you guys forever to get together, I'm not surprised it's taking you this long to go on your first date," Clint comments as he switches over to Netflix as Bucky sits on the couch next to Steve, Tony cuddling up on his lap as he grabs some popcorn from the bowl.

"We'll get it right eventually."

"Yeah, on your wedding day."

"They can't even go on a date without something going wrong, what makes you think their wedding day will go any better?" Natasha asks as she leans back in her seat and Clint and Steve chuckle.

"True."

"You guys are mean friends," Bucky tells them, hugging Tony for comfort and the little boy laughing at his misery.

*

+1.

They finally have their first date thanks to the team. The two had gotten into a fight the day before and had completely forgotten that today was their first month anniversary, also because they'd been avoiding each other all day because they were both stubborn and didn't want to apologize first or admit they were wrong.

"Why are you insisting that I wear this?" Loki asks Natasha and Wanda with a raised eyebrow as she eyes the black dress on her bed. "And why do you assume that I want to go anywhere with Barnes today?"

"Any other time I'd be all for your attitude, but not right now, Lola," Natasha says and Wanda giggles as Loki glares at the red headed spy. "Exactly a month ago today you and Bucky got together and you still haven't had your first date, so you're both putting aside your differences and going out."

"Also because Nat's tired of seeing you mope and frost the windows in every room," Wanda chimes in with a large innocent smile on her face while both Natasha and Loki glared at the young woman who shrugged. "We're all tired of it, but think about Tony. He's been pretty quiet since you two fought yesterday."

The other two knew they'd managed to convince Loki as soon as they mentioned Tony, because the mage's shoulders sagged and she sighed before nodding. She grabs the dress and then heads off to change in the en suite.

She comes out wearing a long black backless mermaid dress and a slight scowl on her face.

*

A few floors down, Steve and Sam are with Bucky trying to convince him to change into a black suit. The ex Hydra assassin is staring at the outfit like he's got no idea what to do with it and Sam groans.

"Just put it on and don't stand your lady up," Sam tells Bucky in a slightly irritated tone. "Ignore whatever argument you guys had yesterday, today a month ago you guys got together and I'm sure the only reason why she's been so irritable lately is because you haven't made an effort to take her out on a date."

"Um have you not forgotten our disastrous attempts at a first date, Wilson?" Bucky asked him and Steve sighs.

"He means since she got better after having been sick," Steve speaks up and Bucky sighs.

Bucky gets changed and then Steve's driving him to the location of his date, reassuring him that Loki would either already be there ("I doubt it Steve, she takes forever getting ready." "This is why you sleep on the couch more often than not.") or be there soon.

The date is at a house that Tony owns about ten minutes out of the city in a quiet family friendly neighborhood. The houses are pretty far apart for more privacy and it's a very gorgeous property with a large yard.

The date was set up in the backyard with a table with a white table cloth and two chairs under one of the large trees which had a bunch of string lights that were on and cast a soft glow around the yard. Two candles were in the center of table where plates and wine glasses were already placed. There were smaller candles placed on the railing of the deck and rose petals on the ground made a path from the backdoor to the table.

"Have fun tonight and don't worry about anything. Tony's with Peter and May and we won't call you in on Avenger's business unless it's an end of the world type of situation," Steve reassures his best friend.

"Yeah, thanks," Bucky says a little speechless as he keeps staring out into the yard.

Steve heads inside the house and Loki arrives a few minutes later and Bucky swears he can feel time come to a stop when he looks at her. She's trying to appear indifferent, but he can see right through her and see that she's really nervous and unsure about this, so he steps forward and holds out his hand for her to take. Loki reaches her left hand out until her hand is in Bucky's and he laces their fingers together before leading his girlfriend out towards the table.

"Seems like we're finally gettin' that first date," Bucky jokes and is instantly relieved when she laughs.

"Seems like we are."

"Happy anniversary, doll."

"Happy _one month_ anniversary, James."

And their date doesn't end until hours later after dinner and a dance under the moon once they're both in bed with hands roaming bare skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone catch that Infinity War reference in part 3 ?? Anyways, there wasn't enough Tony in this one because I wanted to focus a little more on Bucky and Loki this chapter and also, yay for more Lady Loki.
> 
> lmao, my boyfriend is taking me to see the rerelease of Endgame on Saturday and i'm still not emotionally stable even tho it's been two months. i'm gonna be a big mess again after that ;-;


	44. "You'll always be a part of me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They told the rest of the team and while they all wanted to sit and mourn what they haven't yet lost, they don't because they've got an oblivious child who thinks it's just like any other day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 😭😭💔
> 
> Title comes from the song Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel) by Billy Joel

Loki steps off the elevator on James's and Steve's floor searching for his boyfriend and child and stopping in his tracks when he sees a mess of blankets arranged in a tent sort of manner and hears soft giggling but Anthony and James were nowhere in sight.

"If I may know, what is going on here?" Loki asked and soon the child's head popped out from behind a blanket, hair a tangled mess and a large grin on his face.

"We built a fort, mama!" Anthony tells him and James pokes his head out from the fort with a grin on his face, looking just as childish as Anthony.

"Come in and join us, doll. It's surprisingly comfy," James says as he stretches an arm out for the god who raises an eyebrow. "The kid's a genius at makin' forts."

"Please!" Anthony begs and pouts a little. "There's plenty of room, mama!"

Loki sighs in what should be annoyance, but James knew him better and would know that it was more fond than anything. So the mage removed his shoes and crawled into the surprisingly large fort. There were pillows everywhere and despite there being two tall adults and a child, there was still plenty of space left.

"Was this your idea?" Loki asked James as Anthony settled between them with a tablet as he searched for a movie to watch.

"I swear it was the kid's idea, not mine," James replied and Loki turned to look at him with an unimpressed look.

"Sure papa, blame it on the four year old," Tony replies distractedly as he keeps scrolling through the movie options on his tablet. "Mama knows you're just a big kid in a grown up body."

"Hey! I resent that."

Loki chuckled as the two continued to banter.

*

"FRIDAY, are Loki and Bucky up here?" Steve asks the AI with a slight frown. He'd been searching for the two and Tony for awhile now, but his floor was quiet and there was no one to be seen.

"Affirmative, Captain. They're in the living room," FRIDAY replies.

Steve walks over to the living room, an amused fond look taking over his face when he sees the fort taking up almost the entire space. He was about to leave when Loki crawled out, greeting Steve with a slight nod.

"They fell asleep," Loki informs the blonde who takes a peek into the fort and finds his best friend fast asleep on his back with Tony curled up into him and a thumb in his mouth.

"Did Strange stop by?" Steve asks the mage as they head to the kitchen, noticing that he was quieter than usual. Not that Loki spoke much or was loud like Clint, but he seemed more subdued and like he was battling with something.

"He did. Could be hours," Loki replies a little sadly and Steve sighs.

"I'm sorry, Lo."

"It had to happen eventually," Loki says as he starts making his tea, his back now to Steve to avoid his pitying look.

They told the rest of the team and while they all wanted to sit and mourn what they haven't yet lost, they don't because they've got an oblivious child who thinks it's just like any other day. He's happy and filling every inch of the tower with his infectious giggles.

Peter joins them after school and they order Tony's favorite foods for dinner. Loki and Bucky watch as everyone gets their chance to cuddle with the little boy one last time before the clock hits eight and Bucky is calling the kid for bath time.

"But papa, I wanna play some more," Tony whines as they head up to Bucky and Steve's floor with Loki, leaning into the god with a large pout on his face.

"I know kid, but we can't have you going to sleep past your bedtime or you'll be cranky tomorrow morning," Bucky tells him though he had a thought Tony would be grumpy either way.

"Boo."

Loki chuckled and ran a hand through Tony's hair before the elevator doors opened and they stepped out onto the super soldiers's floor.

Bath time is quick, but not easy. It never is. The two adults leave the bathroom with soaked shirts, but this time they don't care as they follow after the little brunette who's wrapped in a fluffy red towel as he heads to his bedroom.

"Papa, can I sleep in one of your shirts?" Tony asks suddenly and maybe some part of Tony knows too and it just makes the ache in Loki's heart so much bigger.

"Sure kid, I'll be right back," Bucky says as he leaves the room to go grab one of his shirts while Loki works on getting him into a pair of underwear and rubs lotion all over his baby soft skin.

"Mama, did you and Papa fight?" Tony asks curiously as he watches Loki who frowns.

"No, why would you ask that, darling?" Loki questions the four year old.

"You both look sad an' you always look sad when you fight with 'im."

"I promise that we have not fought, but we are simply tired, darling. We have had some tiring few days, but we are alright. Now, what story would you like tonight?"

"Can you sing to me?"

Loki hid his surprise since the child usually always asked for the same story for bedtime, but he nodded anyways. Bucky returned with a shirt, a gray one with Bucky's last name on the back. Tony grinned excitedly and let Bucky help him put it on.

"Thank you!" Tony tells Bucky who chuckles and kisses his forehead before pulling back the covers and helping the child settle in.

"Alright, kid, all ready for bed?" Bucky asks him and Tony nods, yawning and pulling Mister Snuggles closer to him, his Bucky Bear and Cap Bear on his other side. His duck plush that he'd gotten for Easter and the Panda-corn, or whatever the hell Peter and Tony had called it, were sitting on top of his toy chest with the little Loki and Winter Soldier Tsum Tsums he'd gotten.

As Loki looked around the room, he let a small smile play on his lips. The room was a mess, definitely looking like it had belonged to a child for longer than the eight months the four year old had been with them. There were drawings taped to a wall, children's books and age appropriate board games on a book shelf, pictures of little Tony with the team, shoes scattered everywhere and toy cars half hidden under the bed. It looked more lived in than adult Tony's bedroom in the penthouse.

"So what story are we readin' tonight?" Bucky asked Loki who shook his head.

"He wants me to sing," Loki replies as he smooths back Tony's hair, smiling fondly down at the child whose eyes were drooping.

Loki sits on the edge of the bed and Bucky sits behind him, arms around his boyfriend in a comforting gesture as the mage takes in a deep breath and starts singing.

_"Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes_   
_And save these questions for another day_   
_I think I know what you've been asking me_   
_I think you know what I've been trying to say_   
_I promised I would never leave you_   
_Then you should always know_   
_Wherever you may go, no matter where you are_   
_I never will be far away"_

Loki sang softly, FRIDAY lowering the lights as the child settled further in his bed with a content smile on his face as his eyes began to slip shut, getting harder and harder to open each time he did and Bucky could only watch amused as the child refused to fall asleep before he reached his favorite part of the song. 

_"Goodnight my angel, now it's time to dream_   
_And dream how wonderful your life will be_   
_Someday your child may cry, and if you sing this lullaby_   
_Then in your heart there will always be a part of me_   
_Someday we'll all be gone_   
_But lullabies go on and on_   
_They never die_   
_That's how you and I will be"_

By the time Loki finished the song, his voice had dipped into a whisper and Tony was fast asleep. Bucky lifted his gaze from the child to his boyfriend, heart clenching painfully when he saw the tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Come on, doll," Bucky says softly as he stands up from the bed and helps him up, turning on the nightlight on their way out and leading his boyfriend to his bedroom. "Come 'ere."

Loki falls into Bucky's arms, body shaking with silent sobs and Bucky has to swallow the growing lump in his throat and squeezes his eyes shut to keep his own tears at bay.

"I know, babe," Bucky says softly as he rubs the god's back with his metal hand and holds him close with his other arm. "But you know he'll always be our kid. He'll always be our Tony no matter what age he is because we both know that he's terrible at takin' care of himself." Loki chuckles into his shoulder and Bucky smiles slightly. "He's gonna fight us tooth and nail once he's back, try to push us away, but we're not gonna let him. And it'll be like havin' a teenage son this time."

"It is not easy to lose another child, James," Loki says, voice muffled from where he's buried his face into Bucky's neck this time.

"I know it isn't, doll. I'm so sorry."

"You know," Bucky says awhile later as the two lay in bed, Loki tucked in his arms no longer crying but still upset as Bucky rubs his side comfortingly, "at least now we know we make a great team at this parentin' thing so whenever we decide to do this for real, we'll be ready."

"We will," Loki agrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was a hard one to write and i will admit that it took me three days (yikes) and i might have shed a tear or two. the rest of the chapters will follow adult!tony and how the rest of them are dealing with all this and the very last chapter will be an epilogue. originally i wanted the last 5 chapters to be about adult!tony and that, but apparently i can't count lmao


	45. Not Sure How To Feel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will do," FRIDAY responds though she sounds exasperated by her boss' lack of ability to be able to handle his emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 of 5

When Tony opens his eyes, he panics for a few seconds as he sees that he's not in his room, but then it all comes crashing down; every new memory at four years old and all he wants is to bury himself under the covers and never come out. He kinda just wants the Earth to open up and swallow him. he's not sure he ever wants to leave the room and face everyone, but he can't hide forever.

"FRI, are they here?" Tony asks his AI as he sits up in bed, looking down at the shirt he was wearing which was Barnes'.

"Affirmative boss. Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes are in the kitchen, would you like me to inform them that you are awake?" FRIDAY asked her boss sounding more amused than anything, probably aware of how embarrassed Tony was.

"Don't you dare, FRIDAY. I'll see them when the world ends."

"If you say so, boss."

"Just if they ask about me, tell them I'm still asleep, but when they leave tell me."

"Will do," FRIDAY responds though she sounds exasperated by her boss' lack of ability to be able to handle his emotions. It makes Tony miss JARVIS an awful lot. He always sounded done with Tony's shit. Not that FRIDAY'S any better either, but she always sounds more amused than done.

Tony avoids looking around the room, too embarrassed to see the stuff he used as a four year old, but a part of him (that he pushed way down) wanted to take comfort in all the childish things that made him so happy up until yesterday. He wasn't sure what they were going to do with all the toys and clothes, and he didn't want to know. The less he knew about this part of his life the better.

"Boss, Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes have vacated the floor," FRIDAY informs Tony ten minutes later and the genius stands up from the bed, ignoring the soft thump of something falling as he rushed out of the room and towards the elevator.

"Thanks FRI, to the penthouse please," Tony tells his AI who does as she's told.

Walking into his penthouse for the first time in months was so weird. It no longer felt like home and he certainly didn't want to think about how home meant Bucky and Loki or Peter when he spent the weekends. And he'd never been the kind of person to believe that home could be a person, but here he was trying to deny something that was painfully obvious.

"Would you like me to call Colonel Rhodes or Ms Potts?" FRIDAY offered quietly, able to sense her boss's mood.

"Not yet, FRI, I- I need to do some thinking of my own before I face everyone," Tony tells her as he looks through his closet for something to wear after a nice long hot bath. Who knew that him being a kid would help him love baths again.

*

Awhile later Tony's in his lab looking through everything and groaning at the amount of work that had piled up over the last few months.

"Can I go back to being four again?" Tony asked no one in particular as he groaned and tried to figure out where to start.

"Are you okay?" Someone asks from the entrance to his lab and Tony jumps about a foot in the air and drops the pen he'd been fiddling nervously with before turning to glare at Bucky who looked a mix between amused and fond. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

"Jesus, I really should work on finally getting that bell on you so you make some sort of noise when you walk into a room. Heart condition, remember?" Tony rambled on as he avoided Bucky's gaze and instead bent down to pick up the pen and face his table. Dum-E chirped happily from his charging station at the sight of Bucky, the bot having a soft spot for the metal armed soldier.

"We both know you don't have a heart condition and you've been whinin' 'bout that bell since the day I moved in which it's been nearly two years now."

"Do you need something? Kinda busy at the moment trying to figure out where I need to start."

"You could start by eating somethin' first," Bucky tells him and Tony doesn't have to be looking at him to know he's giving him that disapproving dad look. He's had enough of that look to last him a lifetime.

"No can do, Buck-o! But I will appreciate it if you brought me a cup of coffee and told everyone that I need some fucking space."

"We need to talk about this eventually. You're not going to lock yourself in your workshop and pretend that nothing happened, understood?" Bucky reprimanded the now adult version of his child who looked at him and rolled his eyes like a teenager with attitude problems which Bucky realized that he probably wasn't far off when he told Loki that having adult Tony back would be like having a teenage son instead. Not even Peter caused this much trouble.

"Alright dad, but that isn't today nor tomorrow. Maybe next month when I'm not so busy," Tony says in complete exasperation. "Or next year preferably."

"I will drag your ass out if I have too, Anthony."

"Okay yeah sure, but I really need to get back to work because I'm sure that as soon as Pepper finds out I'm back to normal, she'll drag me to meeting after meeting."

Bucky shook his head in frustration and left the lab which Tony didn't want to admit that it stung a little. He wasn't used to being alone anymore and he had no idea how he was going to get back to his old life pre-spell.

"Lockdown FRI, I don't want any calls unless it's end of the world stuff," Tony informs his AI as he sits down and starts looking through his emails.

*

Upstairs, Bucky walks onto Loki's floor where he finds the mage sitting in his favorite arm chair with a book on his lap though he's staring out the window into the rainy New York skyline.

"How is he?" Loki asks him and Bucky sits on the ground and leans into his boyfriend's legs.

"Conflicted and knowing him, he's gonna want to push us away," Bucky replies as he closes his eyes and leans back as Loki starts to run his fingers through his hair.

"We will not let him. I am sure that he does not know how to act around all of us. He is embarrassed, so we should give him a bit of time, but not enough where he thinks that we do not care," Loki says softly.

"I know, but I miss Tony and I don't want him to think that we only miss him as a four year old. I want him to know that I miss him in general."

"As do I," Loki agrees with a small smile.

"Where did the others go?" Bucky asked, changing the subject in hopes of lessening the pain.

"Most are down in the gym. They want to see Anthony but understand that it probably is not the best time," Loki explains and Bucky nods. "I informed Peter as well, told him to not come by this weekend to give Anthony some space."

"That's probably a good idea."

Looking around Loki's floor, he spotted one of Tony's cars under the couch and smiled sadly.

"It's so quiet without him, ain't it?" Bucky asks his boyfriend who hums in agreement.

"It is. Never thought I would hate this silence."

"We could always fill it with our own screaming tiny creature," Bucky suggested teasingly and Loki chuckled and shook his head.

"Keep dreaming, Barnes."

"I am. I see a little girl that looks more like you but with my hair and humor."

"Because you are such a comedian," Loki huffs and rolls his eyes and Bucky turns to glare half-heartedly at his boyfriend. "We will be alright. Just give it some time."

"I know," Bucky whispers and presses a kiss to Loki's knee as he tries to not think about a certain genius who's locked up in his lab unsure of how to deal with the situation and as he tried not to think about that little boy who would have been running around by now and causing all sorts of trouble.

Even Brownie lay on the end of the couch sadly, probably wondering where her owner was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn't mean to take a whole week off, but I only worked 3 days last week and I made an impulse buy, bought myself an iPhone XR (bye bye savings ;-;) but ya know, I deserved that phone. I work 2 jobs and I still had an iPhone 6 lmao
> 
> Anyways, I will have the first chapter of Book 3, which will be called Never Grow Up, posted on Wednesday so keep your pretty eyes open !! Not sure how long Book 3 will be, but I was hoping to make it where you get a glimpse of Tony through the years up until he's 18.


	46. (Not) Home Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Children are truly imaginative and innocent creatures, are they not?" Tony hears Loki say and he nearly drops the bear in his fright as he turns to face the prince, Brownie rushing to greet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 of 5
> 
> sorry it's so short

It takes Tony three days before he leaves his lab in the middle of the day. He only leaves because half the team was off on a mission for SHIELD and the other half was scattered around the world (Wanda, Vision, Thor and Bruce). So technically he was all alone in the tower and he took the chance to head up for something to eat. He'd gotten so used to eating at regular times over the last few months that he was beyond starving right now.

Tony arrives at Bucky and Steve's floor out of habit, jumping slightly when the white fluffy dog that Thor had gotten him so long ago when he was sad because of Teddy moving away, came rushing out to greet him excitedly.

"Apparently four year old me is more of a dog person," Tony says to himself as he bends down to pick her up, smiling as she barks happily and licks his cheek in greeting. "Sorry girl, didn't mean to leave you like that for so long. Hope that pa- Bucky took good care of you."

Tony walks down the hall to his old bedroom and stands just outside of it, facing the closed door before he reaches out with a hesitant hand to open it. Taking in a deep breath, Tony steps inside the room and looks around.

The bed is still unmade from that last morning he'd been there, toys scattered around and clothes thrown about. It's as if time froze in the room, just waiting for its owner to return and either put everything into place or make a bigger mess (which kid Tony was quite messy). Tony squashes down the feeling of wanting to be four again and instead sets Brownie down, watching as she goes over to the stuffed bear Clint had given him that very first day. It lay on the ground and Tony thought back to when he rushed out of bed when he returned to normal and how he heard something fall but had been too caught up in what had happened to figure out what had fallen.

He bends down to pick up the bear, a soft smile grazing his features as he brings it to his chest.

"Mister Snuggles, what a name," Tony says to himself as he chuckles and shakes his head.

"Children are truly imaginative and innocent creatures, are they not?" Tony hears Loki say and he nearly drops the bear in his fright as he turns to face the prince, Brownie rushing to greet him. Tony nearly laughs at the uncomfortable look Loki gives the dog, but leans down to pet it nonetheless. Loki really wasn't a pet person and he hadn't been a people person when he'd first moved into the tower.

"I uh thought you were with the team on the mission," Tony said nervously as he lowers the bear so it just hangs from his grip, trying to appear indifferent to it all.

"They did not need me, so I stayed behind."

"I don't need a babysitter," Tony spat out angrily though unlike the old him, he instantly felt guilty for doing so. It was like yelling at his mother now no matter how much he tried to deny it.

"I did not say you needed a babysitter. I merely thought you would like some company, to know that you were not alone in the tower." Loki walked further into the room and stood in front of the section of a wall where Tony's drawings were taped.

Tony didn't know what else to say so instead he stood next to the god and looked at all of the drawings. They ranged from drawings of the team to a T-Rex and Spider-Man and a child in a similar costume. The last person Tony wanted to see right now was Peter because he was the third person his relationship had completely changed over the last few months.

"You drew exceptionally well for a four year old," Loki comments as he stares at a picture of Loki in his armor and another of the Winter Soldier.

"I used to draw a lot as a kid before Howard told me to stop waisting my time with childish things," Tony said, unsure of why he even said something about his past. Maybe it's the bond he made with Loki, stronger than the bond he had with Howard or his biological mother. "I loved taking art classes at school, but once I turned ten I stopped signing up for them when Howard destroyed a painting I'd made."

"Seems we lucked out in the horrible father department," Loki comments, voice hard with anger at the mention of Howard.

"Seems so," Tony agrees quietly, unconsciously bringing the bear up to his chest and hugging it tight. "Do you- Do you miss four year old me?"

"We all do," Loki says honestly and Tony isn't sure why it hurts to hear that. "But we missed you more."

And with that being said, Tony relaxed. A part of him was terrified to know that they preferred the younger him because he was easier to get along with. He knew that he was an asshole, made hurtful comments without really thinking and wasn't good company, the complete opposite of how he'd been as a kid. Even he would prefer the kid version of himself.

"Do you have in mind of what you would like to do with all of this?" Loki asked the adult next to him, tearing his gaze away from the drawings to look at Tony who had buried his face into the Bear's fur. It brought a smile to Loki's face.

"I guess we could donate the clothes, most of it is in good shape," Tony says as he walks into the closet and looks around. "The toys I'm sure we could take to one of those places with orphaned kids and keep the drawings. I-I'd like to keep those or give them to you and Bucky."

"Whatever you want Anthony, we are here for you."

Tony walked over to the bed and made a face at the Cap and Bucky bears on the bed, wondering where on Earth they'd even gotten those things. Brownie was sniffing around the room until she finds a dirty shirt on the ground and starts biting it. When the engineer turned to look at Loki, he wasn't surprised to find that the mage was gone and so were the drawings on the wall.

"Guess it's just you and me now," Tony tells the bears, chuckling as Brownie lets out a bark to remind him that he's there. "Sorry girl. Don't think you can tell me what to do, right? I mean, I know I can't avoid everyone forever, no matter how much I want too. And boy do I want too. Four year old me really had no consideration for adult me."

Brownie barked again before going back to the shirt which upon further inspection, Tony realized was a Spider-Man shirt. He tried to fight off the blush that so desperately wanted to spread across his face, so he instead focused on something else; getting the hell out of the room and heading up to his penthouse where he then proceeded to lock himself in there all day before heading back down to his lab the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always forget about Brownie. I'm working on chapter 8 of Never Grow Up and so far I've only mentioned the dog like two times😂 😂 when there's so many characters in a story, you tend to forget something, even if that something is the dog of a main character.
> 
> Chapter 2 of Never Grow Up will go up on Wednesday. For now, I'll keep updates to that story once a week until I can finish this one. I swear I'm not procrastinating on finishing this story on purpose, it's just that it's gotten kinda hard to finish this story off and I don't want to make it sound forced or rushed and miss something important


	47. Eww Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're right, feelings are so gross and overrated," Bucky jokes and Tony gave him a small smile for his joke.

"Shit," Tony says through gritted teeth as he holds his bleeding left hand and the tool he'd been holding, which was the same one that had cut him, fell to the ground with a loud bang. "Fucking great." Dum-E chirped worriedly as he rolls around the room like a headless chicken.

"You're done here," Bucky says as he rushes into the lab and leads Tony over to the sink to wash away the blood on his hand, the genius hissing in pain and struggling to break free from Bucky's strong hold. "Stop movin'."

"Well it fucking stings!"

"Stop being a baby. You've never complained about broken bones before and certainly not a cut."

"Well now I've got a lower pain tolerance thanks to the time I spent as a rugrat," Tony argues back while sending a glare Bucky's way that of course went ignored. "And why are you so calm? Don't parents usually freak out when their kids get hurt?" And as soon as Tony said that, he saw Bucky smirk and he all he wanted was for the ground to swallow him whole. Again.

"I'm used to you getting hurt, ya big klutz."

Tony didn't say anything else and watched silently as Bucky turned off the water and went off to fetch the first aid kit and then return to address Tony's wound.

"You're lucky you don't need stitches again," Bucky says as he finishes off wrapping his hand and then admire his work to make sure everything was in place. "You're done here. You look like you haven't eaten or slept in awhile and like you're about to drop dead from exhaustion."

"I appreciate your concern, but I've got a mountain of work to do and not enough time. Pepper's dragging me to a board meeting at the end of the week and I've got a business trip to head out on next week to London and then Tokyo and-"

"And that's why I need you to rest. Take a deep breath and relax for me, kid," Bucky instructed and Tony found himself doing as he was told while ignoring the whole kid comment, shoulders sagging with exhaustion. "Just because you're an adult again, it doesn't mean that we all stopped carin' about you and I need you to understand that, Tony."

"Its not easy to go back to who I was," Tony finally admitted as Bucky lead them over the couch and the two sat down side by side, the engineer staring at his bandaged hand and Bucky being a comforting presence next to him. "It feels like I don't even know how to do that anymore. Like being four years old suddenly turned me into a whole new person."

"It's not easy for us either, Tones. We went from lookin' after a four year old everyday to not knowin' if you're okay. We're your family and you shouldn't have to feel embarrassed over anythin' that happened."

"Life was so much easier when I was four," Tony said with a slight laugh which sounded like he was close to tears. "It feels like I'm a completely different person now. Like you guys had a big part in shaping me into who I am right now. You know how much I hate feelings in general, but I just want to say uh thank you for ah you know. You and Loki didn't have to step up, hell none of you had too, but you did and yeah." He waved off and tried to appear nonchalant about the situation, but Tony's cheeks were a slight shade of pink that Bucky only noticed because of how close they were sitting.

Bucky chuckled before wrapping an arm around Tony's shoulders and pulling him in closer.

"You're right, feelings are so gross and overrated," Bucky jokes and Tony gave him a small smile for his joke. "Just know that as a family, we all have each other's backs and we weren't about to leave ya defenseless just because you were a tiny brat. And as for you bein' someone different, that's because you got all the love and attention you needed. You got to be a normal kid and experience things as ya should have."

"I guess. I mean, you and Loki were certainly way better parents than Howard and my mother ever were."

They sit in silence for a few minutes before Tony let's out a loud yawn and Bucky turns to see the man struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," Bucky says softly as he stands up and tugs Tony along with him.

"Not tired," Tony argued back weakly and Bucky chuckled as FRIDAY saved whatever project Tony was working on and shut down the lab.

"Humor me then."

Tony's too tired to notice that they don't even head up to his floor. Instead Bucky takes him to the room he stayed in when he was four on Bucky's and Steve's floor. He's too tired that he doesn't even protest when Bucky tucks him in bed after removing his shoes nor does he protest when the man wishes him a good sleep before leaving the room. And he certainly doesn't notice all the toys still scattered around the room, especially not the bears.

*

Bucky was in the kitchen working on making Tony something to eat when Steve walks in and smiles at him.

"Hey Buck," Steve greets him and Bucky greets him back with a nod. "Did you finally get Tony to sleep?"

"Yeah. He's sleepin' down the hall, didn't even protest when I took him there instead of his own floor, but knowing him, he's gonna be bitchin' about the room once he does wake up and realize where he is."

Steve laughed at that and patted his best friend's shoulder as he headed towards the fridge to make himself a snack. Unlike Tony who was just about to have his first meal in however many days, Steve had already had an early breakfast and had gone out to lunch with Sam, Nat and Clint.

"How is he by the way?" Steve asks as he looks at Bucky who smirks at him.

"Embarrassed as hell, but I told him that we're all family and he's got nothin' to worry about. It's takin' him a bit of time to get back to normal, but he'll be alright."

"I know, it's Tony."

The genius walks out of his room, it's still technically his, and joins the two super soldiers in the kitchen still half asleep and hair sticking up in every direction. Bucky ignores the heart eyes Steve is making at the smaller man and instead directs Tony to sit at a chair.

"Smells good. Did you make me something, old man?" Tony asks as he lays his head down on the table, eyes closed and yawning right after.

"Sit up," Bucky tells him as he walks over with a plate filled with spaghetti with a side of vegetables that Tony made a face at. "You're eatin' that. You need every vitamin to regain your strength."

"Ugh, you're bossy," Tony comments but digs in anyway.

"FRIDAY informed me Anthony was finally joining the land of the living," Loki says teasingly from the entry to the kitchen and both Bucky and Steve see Tony's whole face light up at the sight of the prince. "Hello darling, hope James hasn't poisoned you yet with his cooking."

"Harsh," Bucky mumbles while Steve laughs at his best friend's misery. "I can cook."

Loki and Tony both give Bucky matching skeptical looks and okay, he's not the best cook, not like Loki at least, but he's okay. Steve only laughs harder at their faces and dodges a punch from Bucky and refrains from making the comment 'like mother like son'.

"The pasta is surprisingly good," Tony informs Loki who walks up to Bucky and pecks his lips and Tony made a face. To him it was like watching his parents make out and it was gross. "And no one wants to see their parents making out. Especially not in front of my salad."

"You need to stop hanging out with Peter so much," Bucky reprimands him jokingly.

"Whatever." Tony rolled his eyes and went back to eating.

"What'd I say? A complete teenager."

Loki rolled his eyes as he sat at the table next to the genius and the two started up a conversation about some book Tony had recommended to Loki way before the de-aging thing happened. And all Bucky could do was watch his two boys with big heart eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pisses me off when the mom of the baby that i babysit only packs like four diapers as if the baby doesn't spend nine hours with me. had to go out and buy diapers because the little nugget decided to poop more times than i had diapers so i hope you all had a better friday than me. and if you're suffering from this insane heat, i hope you're drinking lots of water :)
> 
> anyways, working on some one shots with different tony pairings, hopefully i can have those out soon (preferably before the year ends), i just don't know why it's so hard for me to write one shots 😂😂


	48. What's Normal?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Uh in case you haven't noticed, I'm not four," Tony replies with a hand over his heart as he stares at Loki.

Tony was in the middle of upgrading his suit when Steve walks in with a tray of food and Tony isn't dumb enough to turn that away unless he wants mom and dad to come down and force feed him. It hasn't happened, but Loki's already threatened him and Tony's been best friends with Loki long enough to know that the god of mischief doesn't bluff so he'd really rather not test that theory. So when Steve says that he brought him lunch, Tony sets down what he was doing and goes to eat. Because he's actually really hungry and not because he's scared.

"What are you working on?" Steve asks as he sits beside Tony with his own plate of food, which really were just leftovers from yesterday's dinner.

"My suit. Kinda itching to get back on the field and after months of my suits kinda just sitting there well they're in desperate need of an upgrade or five," Tony explains as he grabs his fork and starts with the pasta first and tries to ignore the salad but he knows Loki will ask him if he's eaten his greens and Tony's a bad liar. "And don't tell me I'm not ready yet. I've had this argument with Bucky and Loki over the last four days now."

"I'm not going to tell you that you're not ready, only you can really know when you are but I also get where Bucky and Loki are coming from, you know?"

"I hate agreeing with you, but I do get it. It's been hard for me to not see them as my parents and for them to not see me as their kid, but I guess that's never going to stop. They're both bigger mother hens than you," Tony complained with a mouthful of food to which Steve rolled his eyes fondly but laughed in agreement.

"I'm just more subtle about my mother henning than those two," Steve replies as he winks at Tony who glares at him and keeps eating.

Over the next few days, as Tony struggles to get back into his adult selves routine, Steve is a big help for Tony. The two become attached at the hip and the blonde is there every time things get too frustrating for him. And also Steve's there to remind Tony time and time again that he can't avoid Loki and Bucky forever. And it's not like he's actively avoiding them, he's talked to the two already, but not together and Tony supposed that's why he was avoiding them. Because it was easier to talk one on one with the two who took on the roles of mom and dad than it was to talk to them together.

As for the rest of the team, well Tony isn't ready to see them yet.

"You are not going to keep hiding away in here for days, Anthony," Loki says as he suddenly appears inside Tony's lab which makes the genius jump and let out a startled yelp. "You need to eat and sleep like a proper mortal."

"Uh in case you haven't noticed, I'm not four," Tony replies with a hand over his heart as he stares at Loki.

"But you're about the same height," Bucky says as he steps into the room and Tony had been too busy trying to calm down his heart to notice the doors sliding open.

"FRIDAY, I said lockdown. Does that mean anything to you?" Tony asks his AI, ignoring the smirk Loki throws his way as he goes off to greet the bots while Bucky sits on the ratty old, but comfortable, couch in the lab.

"Sorry boss, but Sergeant Barnes and Loki enabled a Parental Control Protocol while you were four years old and even you can't override it," FRIDAY explains, not at all apologetic and Tony turns to glare at both his friends? parents? whatever the hell they are.

"Um why?" Tony asks them.

"Because you don't know how to take care of yourself, Anthony," is Loki's simple explanation and Tony rolls his eyes. "Do not roll your eyes at me."

"Sorry, mom," Tony jokes. "Look, I appreciate that you guys still care about me, but you also need to realize that I've been taking care of myself since I was very young. Hell, you two did more for more in these past eight months than my real parents ever did, so all of this that you guys are still doing, it's a bit overwhelming."

"We're not trying to overwhelm you, kid. We just- We know you and we know that if we don't insist, you'll just push us away and we don't want that. And you're not exactly the only one tryin' to get used to how things were before, just think about that," Bucky tells him gently and Tony looks down at his feet as he tries to swallow the lump in his throat.

Suddenly a pair of feet came into his sight and then he was being pulled into Loki's arms and Tony sagged completely into the god, wrapping his arms around him and clutching at the back of his t-shirt. Tony wasn't going to cry even though he felt like it because it was all too much.

"Just remember that you are not the only one," Loki whispers in his ear as he holds the engineer tight.

It takes an extra day before Tony decides to join the team for dinner. He's got Brownie in his arms and he steps off the elevator hesitantly, unsure of how everyone will greet him. Will they stare and make a big deal out of what happened? Or will they just act like nothing even happened? Tony guesses it's impossible to forget that he spent nearly a whole ass year as a four year old, but he's not really ready for the teasing and all the stories he's sure to hear from Clint and the amount of pictures and videos that he knows exists. He stumbled across a folder labeled 'the Hobbit' the other day and he'd been so close to clicking it open, but then decided to create some arrows for Clint that would explode bright purple foam whenever he tried to use them. And if he managed to make the foam where it stained, well he will neither confirm nor deny that it was him whenever they see a purple archer.

"Just in time for dinner!" Steve calls once he spots Tony, a bright smile on his face that does things to the genius's stomach. "Come sit, we're just about ready."

 _"I know about the arrows,"_ Natasha tells him in Russian when he sits next to her after setting Brownie on the ground and watching her run off towards her bowl. _"I'll make Clint use them during training tomorrow so I suggest you join us to witness it."_

"You are devious and I love you," Tony replies with a large grin while Clint narrows his eyes and stares at the two suspiciously.

"I'm onto you people," Clint mumbles as he does the 'I'm watching you' sign at the two who smirk at him.

"This shall be interesting," Loki says as from where he's sitting next to Thor with his own devious smile on his face.

"Don't encourage them," Bucky scolds his boyfriend but it sounds fond as he walks over and leans down to press a kiss to the prince's head before taking the other seat next to him while Steve and Bruce finish up dinner.

Once the food was served and delivered to everyone, Steve sat next to Tony and the two shared a smile as conversations started all around the table. It was loud and no one made comment about anything that Tony wasn't ready to face yet and he loved them all for it. His family understood him and it made him feel all nice and warm inside to know that they would always have his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to those wondering, no I will not be making a second part to this with Stony. I have something else planned with that pairing that I hope to have out soon :)
> 
> Phase 4 has officially been announced, what are we most excited for? 
> 
> I am really looking forward to the Loki series, Thor Love and Thunder has me really excited for Jane as Thor and Val looking for her Queen and Falcon and the Winter Soldier series as well. Those are my top 3. Really bummed we're not getting Ant Man 3 tho


	49. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're adorable, stick to what you know," Steve says as he wraps an arm around Tony's shoulders and pulls him into his side. "Or get some sleep, you only start asking the weird questions when you're sleep deprived."

"I want to talk you," Bucky says as he walks into Steve's art studio on their floor, the blonde man sitting on a stool in front of an easel and wearing a smock that's covered in paint.

"About what?" Steve asks with a worried frown as he looks up at his best friend. "Is something wrong? Is it Tony? Did something happen?"

"Nothin's wrong, but it is about Tony," Bucky says as he walks around to see what Steve was painting. It was a painting of kid Tony with Brownie on a grassy area and blue skies.

"Okay, what about him?"

"You might be my best friend, my brother, but Tony's like my kid now, so you hurt him in anyway and I will set the Winter Soldier on your ass, got that?" Bucky warned Steve who stared up at him with wide eyes. "And you know he makes murders look like accidents."

"Uh huh," Steve replied quickly.

Just then Brownie ran into the room and Tony followed a few seconds later with a smile that was wiped away when he saw the ex HYDRA assassin's smug look and Steve's frightened one.

"Can you not scare him off before our first date? I'm pretty sure I can do that perfectly well on my own, old man," Tony says as he walks up to Bucky and pokes his chest.

 _"Don't talk like that and I'm only looking out for you,"_ Bucky says in Russian as his gaze softens when he looks at Tony, catching the engineer's finger and pulling him into his arms for a hug.

 _"I appreciate it, but I can look out after myself. Have been doing so since I was exactly four years old,"_ Tony replies, voice slightly muffled from where his face is pressed against Bucky's chest.

"As much as I enjoy hearing you guys talk in Russian, I also can't help but to think that you're plotting my death and planning to dump my body on the Hudson," Steve interrupts them with a smirk and Bucky chuckles a little too darkly which makes Tony snort as he pulls away from his father figure, which was completely weird to even think about now.

"Well what if we are, Rogers?" Tony asks his boyfriend? friend? lover? whatever hell they are at the moment.

"Then you'll be left wondering how our date could have gone."

"Hmm, true. Alright Terminator, let's hold off on the scheming until our first fight," Tony says jokingly, laughing as Steve narrows his eyes in a playful glare with Brownie now on his lap.

It's later that same day when Steve's on his way towards Tony's lab when he bumps into Loki and immediately knows what's coming.

"I know James has already talked to you and I know that you are smart enough to not get on our bad side by hurting Anthony, but you do and I will make sure Hela is waiting for you after your death to continue your eternal torture," Loki tells him with a slight smile on his face which made his threat ten times creepier than Bucky's.

"I uh-"

"Are you traumatizing him again?" Tony asked Loki as he stepped out of his lab only to see a paler than normal Steve Rogers with Loki standing in the middle of the hallway.

"No, just warning him," Loki replies innocently as he turns to face Tony who raised an eyebrow at him.

"I've got my eyes on you and Red October." Tony walks towards them and grabs Steve's hand, tugging him towards his lab and away from a still grinning Loki. "I uh, I'm sorry about the overprotective parents. I've never gone through this before so I'm not really sure about anything at this point."

"It's fine, Tones. Nothing's gonna chase me away from you," Steve replies as he squeezes Tony's hand in reassurance, heart fluttering at the slight blush dusting over his tan skin.

"Well, at least there's not someone else that's going to threaten to cut your balls off if you hurt me," Tony says jokingly because Pepper and Rhodey had already given Steve a less scary shovel talk so Steve chuckles and relaxes.

Tony was so wrong. Steve bumps into Peter just an hour before his date with Tony later that day and he goes to greet the teen when he webs the hand he'd raised to wave at him, to the wall behind Steve.

"Uh Pete?" Steve calls out in confusion.

"Sorry Mr Captain Rogers sir, but I'm just hear to warn you about not hurting Mr Stark- er Tony. He might be older than me again, but before he was like a little brother to me, he was my mentor/father figure so just try not to hurt him or I'll have to web you up on Brooklyn bridge so you're hanging above the cars," Peter warns him with faux innocence as he crowds Steve's space.

"While I don't plan on ever hurting Tony and I'm glad that you're looking out for him as well, I need to start getting ready for my date with him or else I'll be late and Bucky and Loki will make my murder look like an accident so could you ah you know, get this off," Steve motions to the web on his wrist that's keeping him glued to the wall.

"Oh! Right!" Peter rushed off to grab a knife and Steve chuckled fondly and shook his head.

Meanwhile, up on the penthouse, Tony was in his large closet trying to find something to wear while Bucky and Loki sat on the ottoman in the middle of the closet with matching amused smirks on their faces.

"Have you not gone on a date before?" Loki asked the engineer as he crossed one leg over the other, leaning into Bucky while flicking his fingers to search through Tony's clothes to help him out.

"Plenty, but ya know, it's my first one with someone I actually really really like and also my first date in years, so I'm absolutely nervous and probably about to drop dead in seconds," Tony replies a little hysterically and Bucky snickers into Loki's shoulder. "Hey, don't laugh. It took you guys a whole century to go on your first date."

"A month, but that's beside the point," Bucky tells Tony who rolls his eyes and scoffs like the moody teenager he likes to be. Even Peter's not this problematic. "You need to calm down, though. You're not gonna ruin this date and even if you did, Steve adores you and he won't care. I'm sure he'll be the one to fuck somethin' up first anyway."

"You are seriously no help, go check on your best friend," Loki scolds his boyfriend who scowls momentarily before pressing a kiss to his lips before heading out. "Anthony, relax. I will help you find something, but we must hurry or you will be late."

Tony tried on five different outfits, four of which Loki shook his head disapprovingly and even glares at the genius when he suggested he just go naked. It was a joke, but one that Loki obviously didn't like. And Tony? Well he ignored the warm fuzzies he got each time Bucky and Loki got all protective of him. Hell, even Thor had given Steve his own version of a shovel talk which just included his hammer and a little thunder and lightning. So what if he had the best parents and uncle he could have asked for? In the last few weeks he'd learned to love and accept everything that had happened these last few months and just considered the three as the family he'd always wanted.

Tony's down in the communal room with thirty seconds to spare and Steve immediately stands up from where he'd been sitting on the couch with Thor, a large smile on his face as he took in Tony from head to toe.

"You look amazing," Steve said as he grabbed both his hands and Tony felt himself flush at the compliment.

"I uh thanks. You don't look so bad yourself," Tony tells him nervously and Steve chuckles before bringing up one of his hands to kiss the back of it, the two completely ignoring the looks the others were giving them.

"Well I guess we better get going," Steve tells the other three guys in the room, trying not to feel intimidated by them.

"Have him back early and in one piece," Bucky reminds him, his arms around Loki.

"Be responsible," Loki says with a small smirk.

"Remember our little chat earlier today, Steven," Thor chimes in with a large smile on his face as the sound of thunder seemed to shake the entire tower.

"Guys!" Tony whines with his face now a bright red and just wanting the earth to swallow him whole.

"We just want the best for you, darling. Now, go and do not come back late," Loki tells them two who nod and get in the elevator.

"Sorry 'bout them," Tony tells Steve, refusing to look at the blonde who chuckles and gives the hand he's still holding a small comforting squeeze.

"It's no problem, sweets. I'm real glad you've got them to worry about you like that. You deserve every ounce of love and affection we all give you."

Tony doesn't say anything, just moves until he can bury his face in Steve's neck and inhale his cologne. It's not a famous name brand nor is it an expensive kind that Tony buys, but it's all Steve and it's comforting and reminds him of safety, just like Loki's and Bucky's scents. It smells like home.

*

**Two Years Later**

"Can you stop bouncing your leg? It's driving me insane," Clint asks Tony from where he sits across from the genius with an annoyed expression on his face.

"What?" Tony asks and Steve, who's sitting next to him, sighs and places his hand on his fiancé's left leg which stops it from bouncing. "Oh, sorry. Just nervous. Do births take this long?"

"Babe, it's only been like two hours, some can take more than twenty four," Steve informs his boyfriend who looks at him with wide eyes. "My ma was a nurse, so I kinda know this stuff."

"Can't Loki just like, poof out the baby or something?"

"She can do magic, not miracles," Natasha tells him with a roll of her eyes though she was smiling at him fondly.

"Well what's the point of magic if you can't poof out a baby?"

"You're adorable, stick to what you know," Steve says as he wraps an arm around Tony's shoulders and pulls him into his side. "Or get some sleep, you only start asking the weird questions when you're sleep deprived."

Tony frowns at his fiancé but cuddles into his side anyway. He'd been with Loki when her contractions had started and he hated to admit that he panicked, having thought that maybe something was wrong with her or the baby. There's been that concern these past eight months of the baby carrying the super soldier serum and how it could affect it with Loki's seidr. So far Bruce, Helen and another expert Thor had brought from Asgard thanks to his mother hadn't been able to confirm or deny if the baby had the serum.

An hour later and Peter and May rush over to them asking if the baby had arrived, but they all shake their heads and May offers to go get them dinner with Happy. Peter sits on Tony's other side and leans into his mentor's side.

"How's college?" Tony asked the teenager, running a hand through his curls and smiling as Peter leans into the touch.

"Pretty good, just still kinda homesick, ya know?" Peter replies instantly as he shifts his head to be able to look up at Tony who nods.

"I get it."

May and Happy returned with boxes of pizza and drinks and Tony was glad that he'd made the waiting room in the medical wing of the compound comfortable instead of placing hard plastic chairs. The waiting room looked just as cozy as any of the living rooms in the compound and tower, knowing full well that with them being heroes that some might be spending more time than others down here. There was even a TV mounted up on a wall with the volume playing low, though currently no one was watching it.

Bucky walks over to them three hours later, wearing scrubs and a large smile on his face and the others immediately get up from their seats to hear anything on the baby and Loki.

"And?" Steve asked his best friend as he wrapped an arm around Tony's waist.

"It's a girl," Bucky announces and to the half of the Avengers who'd bet on the baby being a girl cheered in victory while the other half accepted defeat and congratulated Bucky. "Both Loki and the baby are fine, there's also no sign of the serum on the baby and Loki said her powers wouldn't manifest until a few years from now."

"Can we see them?" Natasha asks.

"Not all of you at once, they both need to rest, but Lo wants Tony and Peter to go in first," Bucky explained as he looked at the two brunette's who he'd formed a father-son relationship with.

Tony and Peter both follow Bucky into the room where Loki was at, smiling at the princess as she was sat up in bed with the baby in her arms. Loki motioned for the two to get closer and once standing by the side of her bed, the two finally got a good glimpse at the baby.

She didn't look like much right now. Just pink skin and chubby cheeks. She looked tiny wrapped in the soft pink and white striped blanket with a little pink colored hat on her tiny head. Her fingers are what nearly made Tony break down in tears because they were so small and how in the world could that be?

"Hi mom," Peter greeted Loki with a bright smile despite the late hour and he leaned over carefully to kiss her cheek.

"Hello boys," Loki greeted them back quietly.

"What's her name?" Tony asked after clearing his throat.

"Hope you guys didn't name her something ridiculous to pronounce," Peter teases, making a pained face when Bucky hits the back of his head lightly and Tony snickers beside him to which Peter glares at the genius for.

"They probably named her something like Svanhilde. Astrid's a good name if you're into old school stuff," Tony chimes in and Peter giggles knowingly.

"That's only cause How To Drain Your Dragon is still your favorite movie, Tony."

"Boys," Bucky reprimands them gently with a hint of amusement as he rolls his eyes before going over to sit on Loki's free side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders carefully.

"I'm pretty sure Hiccup would have been the baby's name had she been born a boy. The old man over here likes those movies too."

"Boys," Loki calls their attention this time and the two (who frankly still bickered like brothers) turned to face her with matching innocent grins. "Meet Emilie Antonia Barnes."

"What?" Tony asked dumbfounded as he stared at the two with wide eyes while Peter cooed at the baby. "You named her after me?"

"Of course, darling. It is because of you that James and I are where we are today."

"Yeah, Tones. Little four year old you came along to help us get together and to try out the whole parentin' thing. You helped us get our heads out of our asses," Bucky continued with a gentle smile and Tony wasn't sure what to say. Not sure he could even say anything without bursting into tears so he settled for a simple, "Language."

"That's okay guys, you can name the next one Peter or Petra, or whatever the female version of Peter is," Peter tells them and they laugh and shake their heads.

"We'll keep those options at the very bottom of our list again," Bucky says jokingly and Peter huffs before heading off to tell the others what the baby's name is.

"Here, why don't you carry her," Loki offered as she sat up a bit more and got ready to pass off her baby to Tony who panicked for a brief second as he took the baby into his arms.

"Thank you for this," Tony tells them all choked up as he looks away from the baby's peaceful face to stare up at the two who were still like parents to him.

"No Tony, thank you for everything, kiddo," Bucky says as he pulls Loki closer to his side and kisses her temple and Tony looks back down at the baby who decided to yawn at that exact moment and curl her little fingers into a tighter fist before settling back in Tony's arms comfortably.

This was the family Tony had always dreamed of and he was beyond grateful that Bucky and Loki had kept insisting when he kept trying to push them away. Things worked out in the end and he was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna update yesterday but i got busy and by busy I mean that i started re-watching Teen Wolf again. Last chapter will go up tomorrow 😭😭
> 
> But anyways, they got a baby so that's one character you should look forward to in Never Grow Up *side eye emoji*


	50. Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Made him want those long sleepless nights, getting up to feed a baby at ungodly hours or maybe they'd adopt an older kid. One who would need their comfort during a storm and want to build forts in the living room just so they could watch a movie and cuddle.

Things change with a baby at home. They have to baby proof all the residential floors for starters, and everyone fights over their chance to hold Emilie and Tony and Steve are the official designated babysitters so when Bucky and Loki need a breather, the baby can be found on their floor. She doesn't cry much and loves everyone, but it's obvious that after awhile she starts to miss her parents when someone else is holding her and will start to whimper to show her displeasure, but never screams at the top of her lungs like most babies tend to do.

On date nights when Bucky and Loki want to go out and enjoy some time for themselves just five months after the baby was born, Emilie sleeps in the nursery on Steve and Tony's floor, the genius rocking and singing her to sleep while Steve watches from the doorway with a warm and longing smile. Kids had never been on Steve's plans for the future, but after having had Tony as a four year old and now seeing the love of his life with a baby, it made him want it. Made him want those long sleepless nights, getting up to feed a baby at ungodly hours or maybe they'd adopt an older kid. One who would need their comfort during a storm and want to build forts in the living room just so they could watch a movie and cuddle.

So Steve brings it up one night after Tony had put Emilie to sleep and once they're both in bed ready to call it a night.

"Have you thought about kids? Would you like them?" Steve asks him as the two get under the covers and Tony cuddles up into his side.

"If you would have asked me this question before Peter had even come into my life, I would have told you no," Tony replies honestly, letting out a quiet sigh before he sits up a bit to look at his fiancé. "And now with Emilie, sometimes it's all I can think about, ya know? Sometimes I dream that we have a kid or five." He chuckles and Steve shakes his head at the idea. "I-I do want this though. You?"

"My answer is the same as yours, love," Steve tells him with a large grin.

They get married in Malibu ten months after Emilie's born. By then, she's starting to walk and has already said her first word which was 'mama'. It's a beautiful summer wedding and every one of their close friends attends. The team's expanded now and it includes another teenager named Kamala Khan, Doctor Strange, Carol is now a full time member, the Black Panther, Scott Lang, Hope van Dyne and Clint's training a girl named Kate Bishop to take over once he decides to retire which will probably be soon considering his girlfriend Laura and him plan to get married and have kids away from the city life. May is now engaged to Happy, much to Tony's amusement and Peter's awkwardness about that relationship and weird enough, Natasha and Pepper have a thing. Peter and MJ are finally together and her and Ned also attend the wedding.

"So is Rhodey going to walk you down the aisle?" Bucky asks as he fixes Tony's bow tie half an hour before the ceremony is set to start.

"Uh actually, I was uh kinda hoping you would do it. I mean! You don't have to, but yeah..." Tony trailed off awkwardly as he looked at anywhere but at Bucky who'd stopped his movements. "Rhodey could still do it, but just thought it'd be nice."

"I-I'd be honored, Tones," Bucky finally says and Tony looks up at the man whose eyes have gone teary and as opposed to before, the show of emotion doesn't make Tony uncomfortable.

"Are we almost ready in here?" Loki asks as she pokes her head into the room with her makeup and hair done flawlessly and dressed in a long light pink colored strapless dress that flared out from the waist down and also did well to hide the small baby bump she still didn't want the others to know about. "Oh darling, you look so handsome."

Tony smiled at Loki who walked further into the room and pulled him into a hug that Tony gladly returned. Bucky meanwhile watched the two while still trying to control his excitement at the idea of walking Tony down the aisle.

"So with baby number two on the way, when's the wedding?" Tony asked them once he pulled away from the hug, smirking as the two turned different shades of red and struggled to form an answer.

"I should go check on Em, make sure she has not ruined her dress," Loki said a little nervously before rushing off quickly which was quite impressive with the heels she was wearing.

"Spill. What'd you do?" Tony asks Bucky who looks at him with wide eyes.

"Uh nothing," Bucky replies though it comes off as a question and he sighs. "She might have brought it up last week and I might have said we should wait until after the baby's born?"

"You told her the exact same thing with Em, why the hell are you putting this off? Loki came to me upset and thinking that you didn't love her anymore and you know how hard it is to get her that upset? She was in tears, Barnes."

"I've tried proposing to her like six times in the last three months and twice before we found out about this baby, but somethin' always comes up and my plans get ruined. I-I promise to do it this week while we're here. I've already got Nat and Pepper to babysit Em."

"You better," Tony warns him. "You upset her again and I'll have Steve punch you for me."

Bucky snorts at that and then Pepper is walking in to tell them that they're about to start.

It's a beautiful ceremony that starts just before the sun starts to set and the vows make more than one person cry. The party lasts well into the early hours of the morning though the grooms leave sometime after midnight to head off on their honeymoon.

When they return from their honeymoon on Tony's private island, they get back to the news that Loki and Bucky are finally engaged and that they're expecting twins. And not that long later, Tony and Steve get their first little boy. He's one and his name is Michael and he's the sweetest little thing with blonde hair and green eyes and has everyone wrapped around his little finger the second they meet him.

If someone had told Tony at age sixteen, when he was beginning to spiral, that this would be his life years later, he would have laughed and called you crazy because Tony Stark was a playboy and never planned on settling down. But being young again had completely changed who he was and despite how hard it'd been to get passed that, he was glad it'd happened because he had a set of "parents", he was now married to the love of his life, had an adorable little sister/niece with two more on the way and he was a father now. He was happy with the way things turned out and he wouldn't have changed it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I was a chapter short so that's why this was so short.
> 
> Just wanna say a big thank you to everyone who read, took their time to comment and/or leave a kudo. This story was somewhat born a year ago around this time and it wasn't until October that I finally came up with how I wanted things to go and I'm proud of how it's turned out. Hopefully there's still plenty more in the To Be Young Again universe to come. Thank you for sticking with me and giving this story a chance. I shed a lot of frustrated tears but it was all worth it. Hope you decide to keep sticking around.
> 
> Much love !! ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> PROMPTS ARE OFFICIALLY CLOSED AS OF 5/26/19


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